


Minutes After Years

by liv_alittle



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Theatre, Broadway, Enemies to Lovers, Implied Sexual Content, Jealous Lee Jeno, Lee Jeno-centric, Light Angst, M/M, Sexual Tension, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:08:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26019322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liv_alittle/pseuds/liv_alittle
Summary: Jeno and Jaemin are acting rivals and they hate each other, but when given the opportunity to star in an original production together as lovers, neither of them can turn it down. As their hatred for each other gets in the way of their work, Jeno and Jaemin are forced to attempt to understand each other in order to keep their jobs. While Jeno and Jaemin spend more time together, the tension between them rises: What follows will make or break the show.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Comments: 15
Kudos: 36
Collections: NOMIN FAN WEEK





	Minutes After Years

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! I hope you enjoy this fic; as someone who loves theater, this fic has been really fun for me to write! I plan to only have one more long chapter posted as soon as I can write it once this fic is published.
> 
> I'm super excited to participate in this fanweek, and you should totally support other creators that have participated in this fanweek because they're all so talented!
> 
> Please let me know what you think of this fic, I love hearing your thoughts :)

_ Director Jungwoo Kim’s Fresh Twist On A Classic Tale _

_ A Review by Kun Qian _

_ Jungwoo Kim, a director known for his innovative interpretations, does not disappoint in his newest show. This is Kim’s second time directing a musical, though it is his fifth directing a production on Broadway. Fans of Kim were concerned when he took on this show that his fresh innovation would be lost in this classic musical, but Kim has proved everyone wrong once again.  _

_ The iconic love triangle that is what makes this show so notable and has been the center of its new criticisms is made anew by the leads of the show under Kim’s direction. Jiwoo Kim, the leading lady, is portrayed as a naive and almost deluded girl in her coming of age story, and the two men that compose the love triangle (played by Jeno Lee and Jaemin Na) can almost be seen as tools that she used to perpetuate her own self growth. Meanwhile, Kim has created a whole new B-plot completely apart from Jiwoo Kim’s character involving her two love interests without changing the script or score of the show at all. _

_ From the moment Jeno Lee and Jaemin Na appear on stage together, there is a palpable chemistry between them that only builds. At the beginning of the show it can almost be passed off as a tension between them because of their supposed interest in the same girl. However, by the end it is clear that this tension is actually a longing for each other, especially after their duet together that feels more like a love song meant for just them instead of them and Jiwoo’s character. _

_ “After the first cold read Jeno and Jaemin did together while auditioning, I knew I had to cast them together,” Jungwoo Kim stated in an interview after the show. “I was stuck for a while on how I wanted to add one of my twists to this show, but my idea came to me after the first table read we did. Once I got Jaemin and Jeno on stage, I didn’t have to give them any direction on how to portray their relationship, I only had to tell Jiwoo what I intended and she perfectly showed me the naiveté in her character that I wanted to see. From there the narrative just fell in place. I never told Jaemin and Jeno my intentions with their characters because I wanted their chemistry to stay natural– and it worked.” _

“What the  _ fuck _ is Jungwoo talking about? What the hell is Qian going on about in his review?” Jeno barked when he picked up the phone.

“Why hello to you too, Jeno. Seriously, is that any way to greet your agent?” Doyoung asked.

Jeno ran his fingers through his hair. “Why didn’t Jungwoo ever tell me about this? What kind of natural chemistry do Na and I even have? He hates my guts and I hate his.”

“Geez did you even read the whole review? I thought you would be delighted to read it considering how Qian sings your praises in it.”

“No, I couldn’t get through it because of all of his talk about Jungwoo’s ‘fresh take’ on the show that I didn’t even know about.”

“You really shouldn’t complain, Jeno, this is the first time a big critic has reviewed a show you’re in, it could open up a lot of doors.”

Jeno sighed. “Yeah, you’re right, Doyoung, I’m sorry.”  
“It’s fine. I’ll see if Kun Qian is off his rocker or not tonight when I come see the show tonight; I’ll give you my honest opinion. Not that it matters too much considering you don’t have a ton of performances left.”

“I hope you’re looking for audition opportunities, because I really need to make some money. Jungwoo pays me well but it’s not going to last unless I get another show lined up real soon.”

“I’ll take care of it, I need to make money too. I’ve already got a few shows I’d like you to look into to see if you’re interested…”

“If I get paid, I’m interested, I can’t afford to be picky. Especially not when I’m competing with Jaemin Na for every goddamn role on Broadway.” Jeno scowled. “I swear that bastard purposefully shows up to every audition I do, and he always seems to get the roles I really want. He must know someone, don’t you think? I have a lot of reasons to believe he does.”

“Yeah, yeah, I don’t want to hear your Jaemin Na conspiracy theories. For someone who hates him so much he’s on your mind a lot.”

“That’s because I have to make sure he doesn’t steal all the roles I want! I have to pay attention to everything he does!”

“Okay buddy, don’t wear yourself out thinking about him, I want to see you at your best tonight.”

“Of course I’ll be at my best! My focus is all on–”

Doyoung hung up the phone, leaving Jeno’s apartment silent. 

“Rude,” Jeno muttered to himself. He tossed his phone onto his couch and left his tiny living room to go to his equally tiny bedroom.

Jeno laid out a nicer outfit for tonight, with Doyoung coming tonight, that meant Jaemin and Jiwoo’s agents would also be coming and likely treating them to dinner after the show. Jeno wasn’t thrilled, but he wasn’t going to turn down a free meal, no matter how much he didn’t want to spend more time than necessary with Jaemin. Luckily for Jeno, Jiwoo was nice and would probably distract him more than enough from the anger that bubbled up in him every time Jaemin so much as opened his mouth.

Just thinking about seeing Jaemin tonight and having to be on stage with him after he read what that interview said made Jeno’s blood boil. He knew Jaemin had probably read it too. It would likely be all that anyone talked about after seeing the rest of the shows. 

Jeno checked the time and decided it would be best to cool down by taking a nap. He hoped that when he woke up, he would meditate, get ready, and leave for the theater with a cool head, focused on his performance and nothing else. More than anything, Jeno hoped Jaemin Na wouldn’t ruin it for him.

Jeno woke up with his cat, Bongsik, on his chest. Jeno took it as a good omen, in his opinion this was the best way to wake up. He stretched out, causing Bongsik to jump off of him and scurry out of the room.

Jeno felt warm and sweaty after his nap, so he decided it was probably best if he took a shower before he meditated– heaven knows he would get sweaty enough on stage from the heat of the lights. 

Bongsik ran into the bathroom at the sound of the shower coming on. She rubbed her head on Jeno’s calf and meowed loudly. Jeno chuckled and picked her up.  
“Baby, I don’t think you want to get into the shower with me, do you?” Jeno showed Bongsik the running water, and when she recoiled once she realized what it was, Jeno set her down.

When Jeno got out of the shower, Bongsik was patiently waiting for him. She licked at the water dripping from Jeno’s legs as she followed him back to his room. 

“Bongsik, you’re either going to have to leave, or you have to sit still and stay quiet while I meditate.”

Bongsik tilted her head then jumped up onto Jeno’s bed and curled up like she was going to take a nap. Jeno figured she must have understood.

After eating a sandwich, meditating, and getting dressed, Jeno felt like he was ready to take on anything, even Jaemin Na and his flirty but rude remarks and too big, blindingly white smile. 

Bongsik was still asleep by the time Jeno was ready to leave, so he woke her up by showering her in kisses. Bongsik was not pleased by this, she seemed to glare at Jeno.

“I know, I know, but I’m leaving and your dinner is waiting for you. I thought you would like for me to say goodbye.”

Bongsik perked up at the mention of dinner and jumped out of bed. Jeno rolled his eyes at his cat’s behavior. “I see how it is,” he sighed.

Jeno slung his bag over his shoulder, looked at himself in the mirror one last time to make sure his makeup wasn’t smudged, and grabbed his keys before heading out the door.

“Bye bye, Bongsik,” Jeno cooed. Bongsik looked up from her dinner for a second and turned away before Jeno had even shut the door.

Jeno had to power walk to the subway, according to his phone the train he needed to take would arrive a bit sooner than he had thought it would, but Jeno couldn’t afford to sprint and risk wearing himself out. Luckily, Jeno arrived just on time, and the car he got on had very few people on it, so he was able to claim a seat away from anyone else.

Jeno leaned back, shut his eyes, and began working on some deep breathing exercises to keep himself calm. It was working pretty well until Jeno felt someone sit next to him at one of the stops. His eyes snapped open and saw Jaemin Na sitting next to him, acting nonchalant like he hadn’t chosen a seat next to Jeno when there were plenty of others open.

“Since when do  _ you _ take the subway?” Jeno spat.

Jaemin shifted and held his bag tighter against his stomach. “My car is getting repaired. I thought it would be done by now, but it’s not.”

“So? Why didn’t you take a taxi?”

“So expensive,” Jaemin murmured.

Jeno rolled his eyes. He knew Jaemin came from a well off family, he had been to his apartment building before, there was no way Jaemin couldn’t afford a taxi.

“Why are you sitting next to me? Are you nervous about the show or something? You look really nervous,”

Jaemin swallowed. “Ah, yeah, I’m just nervous about tonight,”

Jeno furrowed his eyebrows; he had never seen Jaemin nervous about performing before, that couldn’t be it.

Jaemin suddenly got up when the doors opened at the next stop.

“What are you doing? This isn’t where we’re supposed to get off. Unless you plan to walk the rest of the way,” Jeno said.

Jaemin sat back down. “I knew that, I was just, um, thinking about changing cars.”

“You’re acting like this is your first time on the subway,”

Jaemin stayed silent as he stared at some ad pasted on the doors.

Jeno guffawed. “Oh my god, this  _ is  _ your first time on the subway, isn’t it?”

“Jeno–”

“You’ve been living in New York for like a decade and you’ve never taken the subway? Why?”

“Jeno Lee,” Jaemin hissed, “you’re causing a scene,”

“I’m sure everyone here has seen weirder shit, they’re taken the subway before, but  _ oh my god you haven’t _ .”

Jaemin’s eyes shifted around the car to see everyone else not even sparing a glance at them.

“Is that why you’re sitting next to me? That’s why you’re nervous? Oh, this is rich,”

“Will you stop it? I’m already embarrassed enough,” Jaemin frowned, “my parents got me a car when I moved here because they didn’t want me taking the subway.”

Jeno couldn’t help but roll his eyes. It took all of his self control to not call Jaemin a spoiled brat. “Well, we’re both going to the same place, so just get off at the stop I get off on.” Jeno said instead.

Jaemin nodded and stayed quiet the rest of the ride. When they got off at their stop, Jaemin held onto Jeno’s back so that he could stay close to him as he guided Jaemin through the station. When they got to ground level, Jeno groaned when he saw the rain. He reached into his bag, causing Jaemin to let go of it, and pulled out an umbrella. Jeno was ready to continue his walk when Jaemin tugged on his sleeve.

“Um, I forgot an umbrella, can we share? I don’t want to mess up my hair and makeup.”

Jeno reluctantly agreed, Jungwoo would give him so much shit if Jaemin showed up at the theater looking like a mess when Jeno could have prevented it.

Jaemin latched onto Jeno’s arm with one hand, and used the other hand to help balance the umbrella. The pair walked as quickly as they could while maneuvering around puddles and tourists, and made it to the theater just as the rain picked up and it began to pour.

Jaemin shivered upon entering the air conditioned building and ran to the dressing room, leaving Jeno behind to shake out his umbrella.

“Oh, you’re so welcome, Jaemin, I know, I’m so kind and selfless for helping out a brat like you, thank you for noticing.” Jeno muttered to himself before following Jaemin to the dressing room.

The theater was a small one, and considering there was only a cast of three, Jiwoo, Jaemin, and Jeno all shared a dressing room. Jiwoo was already in there, chattering away on the phone while Jaemin was already sitting in his chair, swaddled in blankets.

Jeno set his stuff down and collapsed onto the couch. This drew Jiwoo’s attention, so she smiled at him and waved. 

“Ah, by the way, I’ll be out late tonight, Sooyoung and Jaemin and Jeno’s managers are going to take us out after the show, so don’t bother waiting up for me.” Jiwoo said into the phone. Jeno couldn’t make out what the person she was talking to said in response, but it clearly upset her. “You can’t just say that, Jungeun! I didn’t make fun of you when you were totally head over heels for that girl you did a shoot with! ...Yeah, whatever. Yes, Sooyoung will make sure I get home safe, bye, Jungeun. ...Love you too.” Jiwoo put her phone down on the vanity.

“Hi Jiwoo, everything alright?” Jeno greeted. 

Jiwoo’s face turned red. “Hi Jeno. I’m good, it was just my roommate calling. Jaeminnie, why are you so cold?”

Jaemin poked his head out of the blankets and pouted. “It was raining and the AC is on so high in here.”

“Awww, poor baby,” Jiwoo cooed and got up to wrap her arms around Jaemin. “Did you get caught in the rain too, Jen?”

“Yeah, but I had an umbrella, lucky for Jaemin.”

“Jeno you’re so chivalrous! You walked Jaemin in from his car?”

Jeno shook his head. “Jaemin actually found me on the subway. He was just lucky that I was there, I had to give him some guidance.”

Jaemin shot Jeno a dirty look.

“Why didn’t you drive here? You always drive.” Jiwoo pointed out.

“Yes, well, my car was in need of repairs and it isn’t ready yet, so I took the subway.”

“Why didn’t you just take a cab?”

Jaemin sighed. “It’s too expensive,”

Jiwoo shared a look with Jeno. Jeno rolled his eyes and mouthed “yeah right.”

“Subway is definitely cheaper,” Jiwoo ran her fingers through Jaemin’s hair. “We’ll get you warmed up before the show. Do you want me to make you some tea?”

Jaemin nodded, so Jiwoo patted him on the head and left to get some hot water, leaving Jaemin and Jeno alone. Jaemin shifted in his chair and averted his eyes away from Jeno. Jeno figured he was probably embarrassed, which only pissed him off even more. What was so embarrassing about taking the subway? People like Jeno did it everyday because they couldn’t all afford to have a car like Jaemin could– well, rather like Jaemin’s family could. The pair ignored each other completely until Jiwoo came back in the room with a mug of tea for Jaemin.

“Did you guys read Kun Qian’s review of the show?” she asked.

Jeno and Jaemin both scoffed. “Sure did,” Jaemin said.

“I’m going to have to talk to Jungwoo about what he said,” Jeno said at the same time.

Jiwoo frowned. “What’s that tone for? It was a really good review! You and Jaemin especially got a lot of praise, so I’d think you would be more happy about it.”

“Yeah, but what the hell was that part about Jeno and I’s relationship? Why didn’t Jungwoo tell us about it?” Jaemin huffed.

Jiwoo ducked her head. “I mean Jungwoo didn’t want to ruin your natural chemistry,”

“What natural chemistry? There’s nothing between me and Jaemin, we’re not even friends!”

“For once, I agree with Jeno.”

Jiwoo furrowed her eyebrows. “Well you do have natural chemistry. You should hardly be upset about it, it’s the main reason this show is so successful. Now, both of you need to calm down before we go on. I don’t want you two messing this up over something so silly.”

Jiwoo handed Jaemin the mug and shoved her earbuds in as she sat down at her vanity. Jeno felt guilty for upsetting Jiwoo; he had to admit his reaction was unprofessional. Jeno decided he would apologize to Jiwoo once she had cooled off. In the meantime, Jeno changed into his costume and decided to meditate again.

By the time he was finished, Jaemin and Jiwoo were finished and the stage manager, Sicheng, came into the dressing room to tell them they had ten minutes to places.

Jiwoo got up out of her chair, but Jeno put a hand on her shoulder to stop her from leaving. 

“I want to apologize for how I was behaving earlier. It was very immature and unprofessional. I promise to perform my best tonight and for all of the shows.” Jeno said.

“I want to apologize as well,” Jaemin chimed in. Jeno had to hold back his eye roll. “The review was very good for us, I’m sure our last month of this show will be very successful because of it. I will work to make sure everyone that comes to see us will enjoy it.”

Jiwoo smiled. “Thank you, I appreciate it. I will perform well too. Let’s work hard and put on a great show!” Jiwoo opened arms wide. “Group hug?”

Jaemin and Jeno glanced at each other, but neither of them were able to deny Jiwoo, no matter how much they disliked each other. The two moved into Jiwoo’s arms and reluctantly put an arm around each other too.

“We should probably go before Sicheng gets pissed at us for not being in places,” Jaemin eventually said.

Jiwoo and Jeno agreed, and the trio went to the stage behind the curtain in their starting places. Sicheng came out to the stage, likely to give them his usual brief “break a leg.”

Instead, Sicheng said this: “Jungwoo told me there’s a playwright out in the audience tonight. He might offer any of you an audition or a part, so perform well tonight. Break a leg, everyone.” Sicheng went offstage into the left wing and began talking into his headset. 

Jeno took a shaky breath. He needed a job after this, so really hoped that playwright would at least offer an audition. Jeno hardly cared what the offer was for, so long as it was an offer. He looked over at Jaemin, who had his eyes closed. Jeno was pissed off that Jungwoo had planned out the show like this without telling him, but if his supposed natural chemistry would get him a job, then so be it.

Jaemin, Jiwoo, and Jeno all exited the dressing room at the same time after the show, as they knew all of their agents would be waiting outside for them. To their surprise, it wasn’t just Yuta, Doyoung, and Sooyoung. Jungwoo was there as well with two men Jeno didn’t recognize.

“Ah, there they are,” Jungwoo said in lieu of a greeting, “Jeno Lee and Jaemin Na. And Miss Jiwoo Kim, of course, but I already told you that she’ll be Fiona in Shrek right after we close. Jiwoo, Jaemin, Jeno, this is Chenle Zhong and Jisung Park.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet the three of you,” Chenle shook each of their hands. “I greatly enjoyed the show. When I read Kun Qian’s review I was so glad I had already booked tickets. You were all fantastic, and Kun was right about you two.” Chenle gestured to Jeno and Jaemin. “He’s my cousin, you know? He sent me the review early and I told him he must be reading way too much into it, but now I understand what he was talking about. It was clear as day. Absolutely brilliant, Jungwoo.”

“Chenle and I have a proposal for you two, but we know you all have plans, yes?” Jisung cut in. “Can we speak with you two in private for a couple of minutes? We promise it won’t be too long.”

Jeno looked over at Doyoung, who nodded encouragingly. “Sure,” Jeno agreed.

“I don’t see why not,” Jaemin added.

Chenle beamed and led them back into the dressing room. He and Jisung sat on the couch, squished closely together despite the room available. Jeno and Jaemin pulled up their dressing room chairs to sit across from them.

“Jisung and I have a project that we would really like you two to be on. A year and a half ago we began working on it, and we feel ready to start bringing other people on board.” Chenle reached into his bag and pulled out two large stacks of paper. He set them on the coffee table. “Jisung and I have written a play that we would like to open on broadway, starring you two as the leads.”

“I hardly wrote it, it was really all Chenle,” Jisung protested.

Chenle squeezed Jisung’s knee. “Jisung was a great help, this script would not exist without him. He’s too modest, really. Anyway, I would like for both of you to read it and let me know if you’re willing to join us. I can give you all of the pay information before you decide after you read the script.”

“You want both of us?” Jeno asked.

“Yes, both of you. It’s essential that it’s both of you.” Chenle confirmed.

“What happens if one of us turns you down and the other accepts?” Jaemin questioned.

“Then I would have to turn away the one that accepts and try to find another pair with chemistry like you two. Although I hope that won’t be the case.”

Jeno began bouncing his knee up and down. He looked at the scripts on the table, then at Jaemin, then back to Jisung and Chenle. “Tell me about this play. What are our characters like and why do you want both of us specifically to play them?”

Chenle glanced at Jisung, who patted his back. “I want both of you because you two encapsulate something that is the essence of my play. It’s about how the timing is never going to be right, so we must make the most out of what we can now or else we’ll never accomplish anything. I want that to be shown through the characters I want both of you to play. For your characters this play is a coming of age and a love story with a sort of best friends, to enemies, to acquaintances, to lovers trope. As your characters fall in love, they learn this lesson, and once they realize it, they’re finally able to get together. You two naturally have this complicated chemistry that is necessary for the characters and can’t just be forced or learned. So I need both of you. I want Jeno to play Gil and I want you, Jaemin, as Ransom.”

Jeno and Jaemin didn’t respond; it was a lot of information for them to take in.

Jisung obviously picked up on this. “You don’t have to decide right now. Just read the script and think about it.” Jisung reached into Chenle’s bag and his own pocket. “Here, both of our cards. Give us a call or a text if you have any questions. We’ll be coming to see the show again next week, so you can let us know what you’re thinking then, and we’ll see where we go from there.”

“Yes, take your time,” Chenle agreed. “It was a pleasure to meet both of you. We look forward to seeing you again next week.”

Chenle and Jisung shook Jaemin and Jeno’s hands and left the dressing room.

Jaemin picked up the script and flipped through it before putting it into his bag. Jeno grabbed his script hesitantly, glancing at the title and keeping it his grip.

Jaemin got up and glanced down at Jeno. “Are you coming? Everyone’s waiting for us.”

Jeno met Jaemin’s eyes. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know,” Jaemin sighed, “I’ll have to read the script and talk to Yuta. It would be a great opportunity if it’s any good though. I’ve never been in an original production.”

“Neither have I,” Jeno got up. “I guess we’d better go out there.”

When they came out of the dressing room, Jiwoo bounded up to them. “How did it go? What did they say? What do you think?”

Jeno chuckled. “One question at a time, Jiwoo. They offered us parts in their new production. Chenle gave us the scripts to read, and they’re going to come see the show again next week to check up on us.”

“We both have to accept the parts to be in it though,” Jaemin tacked on, “something about our natural chemistry being necessary.”

“You’ll have to tell us more about it over dinner,” Doyoung said.

Jaemin gasped. “Oh shit. I have a date tonight and I forgot. God, I’m such a jerk.”

“Jaem, it’s okay, how about you invite him to join us for dinner?” Yuta comforted. “Is that alright with everyone?”

Jiwoo enthusiastically consented, while everyone else said they wouldn’t mind, forcing Jeno to agree as well. It irritated him that Jaemin was so careless and rude, but of course he couldn’t just say that, so he kept quiet.

“Great!” Yuta showed off his giant smile. “Doyoung, Sooyoung, and I booked a reservation at a place nearby, so we can just walk there.”

Jaemin gave a thumbs up as he dialed up a number on his phone and walked a bit away from the group so that they wouldn’t overhear the conversation. Jeno figured it must have gone well, because when Jaemin rejoined the group, he had a wide smile painted on his face and he linked arms with Yuta.

“He’s so sweet and understanding, Yuta. And have I told you how funny he is? He makes me laugh so much.”

“Yes, you’ve told me just about everything you know about him, but I suppose I’m going to hear it again, aren’t I?” Yuta laughed.

“Yep!” Jaemin confirmed.

Jeno felt something stirring in his stomach, but luckily it didn’t get the chance to well up into his chest, as Jiwoo dragged him into the conversation she and Sooyoung were having about what kind of appetizer is the best.

The conversation became a full fledged argument by the time they entered the restaurant, and Doyoung had to scold them to get them to stop.

“I’m paying, so you can buy as many appetizers as you want.” He concluded.

“Oh Doyoung, you really shouldn’t say that,” Jiwoo fussed, “we’ll break your bank if we do that! You’re already being so generous,”

“Don’t worry about it, Jiwoo,” Doyoung assured as he sat down at their table.

Sooyoung raised her eyebrows at the other agent. “You say that now, but you don’t know how much she can eat. She looks small, but her stomach makes up approximately seventy percent of her body.”

Jiwoo looked scandalized. “You did not need to say that!”

“You’re not denying it,” Sooyoung teased.

“Sooyoungie!” Jiwoo cried and hid her face in her hands.

Sooyoung removed Jiwoo’s hands from her face. “Aw, Jiwoo baby, you know I’m just teasing you.”

Jiwoo pouted, but forgave Sooyoung anyway. “Jeno, do you know what you’re getting?”

Jeno opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off by Jaemin.

“Kunhang!” Jaemin waved at who Jeno supposed was Kunhang.

Jaemin got up and gave Kunhang a hug.

“Hi there,” he greeted, “how was your show tonight Jaem?”

Jaemin began to tell Kunhang every detail of his evening, but Jeno tuned out and turned his attention back to Jiwoo. “I haven’t decided yet. I might just snack on whatever appetizers everyone gets, I don’t have much of an appetite.”

“Jeno, how do you not have an appetite after a show? Usually you’re starving afterwards. Are you feeling okay?” Doyoung put a hand on Jeno’s forehead.

“I’m feeling fine, I promise.” Jeno pushed away Doyoung’s arm.

Kunhang joined their conversation at that. “You should really eat even if you aren’t hungry, man. You’ll probably feel better later if you do.”

Jeno gave a tight-lipped smile. “Thanks for the advice,”

Kunhang smiled, not detecting the slight hostility in Jeno’s voice. “I’m Kunhang,”

“So I’ve heard. I’m Jeno,”

“You’re one of Jaemin’s colleagues? I’ve heard you’re often auditioning for the same shows.”

_ The audacity of this bitch, _ Jeno thought. 

“Yes, well, Jaemin and I are basically the same person in the eyes of casting directors because we’re the same height, same age, and we’re both Korean. So we tend to compete for roles, yes.”

Kunhang frowned. “Sounds a bit… racist.”

“Theater is usually racist,” Jaemin agreed.

“Not that you’d really understand, you aren’t an actor, after all.” Jeno said.

Kunhang laughed. “No, I suppose I wouldn’t understand. I’m a veterinarian.”

“He’s the smart one in this relationship,” Jaemin snuggled up to Kunhang.

“Hey, don’t sell yourself short! You’re smart, Jaeminnie.” Kunhang argued.

Jaemin blushed and buried his face in Kunhang’s shoulder. Jeno felt like he was going to throw up. If he had had any appetite before, it was certainly gone now.

“Wah, you two are so cute!” Jiwoo cooed. “How long have you been seeing each other?”

“This is our third date,” Kunhang answered.

“Yeah? Jaemin has never mentioned you before.” Jeno smiled.

Doyoung kicked Jeno under the table. Jeno bit down on his tongue to stop himself from cursing.

“Oh, I know, Jaemin has told me he doesn’t like to tell many people about who he’s seeing. I’m very happy to be here tonight though, I think it really shows that Jaemin likes me– which is great, because I like him too!” Kunhang put his arm around Jaemin, who gave him a kiss on the cheek. Jeno felt like he was going to scream.

As dinner went on, Jeno couldn’t help but like Kunhang. He was genuinely nice and like Jaemin had said, he was pretty funny. Yes, Jeno thought Kunhang was a nice guy, and it infuriated him. Jaemin was so awful, Jeno never imagined he’d bag a man like Kunhang. Jeno told Doyoung exactly this when they got in a cab to Jeno’s apartment.

“Do you really hate Jaemin?” Doyoung asked.

“What the fuck kind of question is that?”

“Well, you sound jealous, more than anything.”

“Jealous,” Jeno scoffed, “yeah right. Kunhang’s a good guy but he’s not my type.”

“I meant jealous of Kunhang, not Jaemin.”

Jeno nearly gagged. “Oh my god, what are you trying to insinuate, Doyoung? You know me better than anyone else, you should be able to see how much I hate him.”

“I don’t know, Jeno. Tell me why you hate him again, it might make more sense if you refresh my memory.”

“I have every reason to hate him. At first I just didn’t like him because we were always competing for the same roles, but I didn’t have any reason to actually hate him until we officially met. He’s so full of himself, Doyoung, and he has no self-awareness. He’s constantly saying the most insensitive shit. Jaemin’s such a spoiled brat too. He’s been sucking on a silver spoon his whole life and he doesn’t even know how privileged he is. And god he’s so annoying! Just flashing his pretty lil smile and batting his eyes and he gets whatever he wants!”

Doyoung pursed his lips. “Ah, I see,”

Jeno tilted his head back and stared up at the roof of the taxi. “I could go on forever about him. Everyday he gives me more and more reasons to hate him. I can’t stand him.”

Doyoung stayed silent. “Can I stay at your place tonight?” He eventually asked.

“Sure, why?”

“I miss Bongsik,”

“I swear you love her more than you love me,” Jeno lamented.

“No, of course I love you more! After all, if it weren’t for you I wouldn’t be able to see Bongsik.”

Jeno gasped in mock offense. “I’m going to start cutting off your Bongsik time, I can’t have you loving her more than me when she already loves you more than she loves me.”

Doyoung laughed. “That’s your own fault, you let me give her all of her treats when I come over so she thinks I come over just to give her treats and food.”

“So why do you really want to come over?”

“Empty apartment with Jaehyun out of town. I don’t like living alone.”

“When is he supposed to get back?”

“Friday, I’m going to take him to your show on Saturday night.”

“That’s great! I haven’t seen him in so long.”

“I was thinking we could go out for drinks after? I’m sure Jaehyun would love to catch up with you.”

“Doyoung, I’d love to– but I can’t. Chenle and Jisung are coming back on Saturday and I’m probably going to want to ask them questions and it might take a while. So I can’t promise anything.”

“Oh shit, yeah, you got the script? Let’s read it together tonight, and we can talk.”

The cab stopped in front of Jeno’s apartment complex. Jeno reached for his wallet to pay, but Doyoung pushed his arm away and paid the driver himself.

“You’re really too generous. Do you know anything about Jisung and Chenle?” Jeno asked when they got out.

“That’s what happens when you’re engaged to a big movie actor, Jeno. Jaehyun and I have too much money and we like to spoil people. I actually do know a little bit about Chenle. His father’s a pretty big movie director in China and his mother is a famous actress there too. They actually met when his mother was in a movie of his father’s. Everyone involved in film in the States has been keeping and eye on Chenle since he came here for college. This is the first play he’s written, as far as I know. I heard he was working in production for a while.”

Jeno entered his apartment and scooped up Bongsik, who squirmed in his arms when she saw Doyoung.

“Do you know anything about him and Jisung? Are they together?”

“No, I’ve never heard of Jisung. I’ve heard rumors about Chenle being with a man, but there’s nothing concrete and new rumors are coming out all the time. You’d have to ask Chenle himself.”

Jeno chuckled and handed Bongsik over to Doyoung. “Yeah, that’s not happening. I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually. I just couldn’t tell if Jisung and Chenle were together or just really good friends.”

“Whatever, get that script out, let’s get through it.”

Jeno plopped down on the couch and took the pile of paper out of his bag. Doyoung took it from him.

“ _ Minutes After Years _ . Interesting name. Did Chenle give you a part to read for?”

“Yeah, Gil. He gave Jaemin Ransom. I didn’t tell you earlier, but Chenle said that Jaemin and I both had to accept our part to be in the play. It’s both of us or neither of us.”

“Really? You’re going to have to talk to Jaemin if you decide you’re interested then. I’ll contact Yuta as well.”

“Do I have to?” Jeno whined.

“Yes, unless you want to end up finding out that you don’t get a job because Jaemin wasn’t sure about the show and you could’ve convinced him to do it.”

Jeno couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t sound childish, so he snatched the script back and began reading it aloud to Doyoung.

It took them 2 hours to get through it when it should have taken them an hour. Jeno and Doyoung both had to take a breather when Gil met Ransom at Gil’s younger sister’s funeral. When they finally finished the play, Doyoung didn’t say anything to Jeno. He simply got up and wandered into Jeno’s room, probably to sleep.

Jeno didn’t want to sleep. He put the script down on his coffee table and meandered to the kitchen. He stood there for a couple of minutes then decided to heat up some of the food his mom left him when she came over last week. Jeno ate the food while looking out the window, taking in the authentic New York City view: a brick wall and an alley full of garbage cans. He took it all in, and after he finished the food, he felt refocused.

Jeno left the plate in the sink and went back to the couch. He stared at the script, and it almost felt like the script stared back at him, beckoning him to pick it up– so that’s exactly what he did. Jeno read it again. 

By Monday, Jeno had read the script about five times in the span of two days. And now that Jeno had the day off, he read it again right when he woke up in the late morning. 

Yesterday he had told Doyoung he wanted to take the job. They discussed what that meant for Jeno then Doyoung told him he had to talk to Jaemin about it if he was being serious about this. Jeno knew Doyoung was right (he always was), but that didn’t mean he dreaded reaching out to Jaemin any less.

Still, Jeno picked up his phone and dialed Jaemin Na before he convinced himself he didn’t have to.

“Hello, this is Jaemin Na,” Jaemin answered.

“It’s Jeno,”

“Oh. What is it? I was trying to sleep.”

Jeno could picture the frown on Jaemin’s face. “You just got up? It’s one in the afternoon, Na.”

“Shut up, like you didn’t just get up a bit ago. It’s my fucking day off.”

“Yeah, whatever, it’s my day off too you know.”

Both parties fell silent.

“Why did you call me?”

“Have you read the script yet?”

“Yes, I read it twice yesterday.”

“What did you think?”

“It was good,”

Jeno ground his teeth. “Do you think you’ll take Chenle’s offer?”

Jaemin hummed on the other end. It pissed Jeno off more; he almost considered hanging up.

“I don’t know yet. I’ll have to talk to Yuta, I have some questions for Chenle, and new shows like this are a hit or miss. If it flops then I’m losing time and money because I could have been working for some other show.”

“Well, please consider taking it on. I really need a job right now; you wouldn’t understand.”

“What do you mean I wouldn’t understand? I need a job too, you know.”

“Sure, but you don’t  _ need  _ a job,” Jeno scoffed, “you’ll survive if you don’t have another show lined up by the time this one finishes, I won’t.”

“My god, what are you talking about? I feel like you’re assuming a lot about me right now when you hardly know me, Jeno Lee.”

“I don’t need to assume, Jaemin, I know. I know you way better than you think, so I know that you’ve always been spoiled and that if you wanted to, you would never have to work a day in your life. I don’t have a choice in working, I work to live, that’s something you would never understand.”

“Shut up! Stop acting like you know me, because you don’t! My main hesitance with Chenle’s show is that I don’t fucking want to work with you for god knows how long because you’re horrible to work with and go around assuming things about me! I’m not going to do this show if this is how you decide to treat me all the time, I’m already fucking sick of it.”

Jeno bit his lip. He still stood by what he said, but he probably shouldn’t have said it. Doyoung would be so pissed off if this conversation led to Jaemin deciding to not do the show  _ because _ of Jeno.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said any of that,” Jeno eventually said. “I’m not personally acquainted with you, so I don’t know you, and I shouldn’t assume or share my assumptions. Please, consider doing this show. I think it would be a great opportunity for both of us. The play is damn good, Jaemin. I know you know that, you’ve already read it twice. I haven’t been in an original production before, and you haven’t either, have you?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Right, so think about the doors this would open up for you if it is a big hit– and I think it will be. I think people will love it.”

Jaemin didn’t say anything for a while. Jeno was almost scared Jaemin had hung up on him to call Yuta and tell him he was turning down Chenle’s offer. 

“Okay,” Jaemin eventually said.

“Okay? You’ll do it?”

“Okay, I’ll  _ consider _ it. Don’t call me about it again. You’ll find out if I’m accepting or not come Saturday.”

At that, Jaemin hung up.

The rest of the week passed by quickly for Jeno. Everyday he got up, read the script, went to perform, ate, slept, and that was all. By the time Saturday came, Jeno didn’t even realize it until Doyoung had texted him saying he and Jaehyun would wait for him while he spoke to Chenle and Jisung.

On the way to the theater, Jeno wrote out a list of questions he had for them, though he knew that he’d probably take the job no matter what the answers to his questions were. 

The performance passed by in a blur. He didn’t talk to Jaemin before it, and getting back in their street clothes they were silent still. The silence was filled only by the chattering of Jiwoo, but she soon left, promising to send Jisung and Chenle in after her. 

“Hi there! Great performance once again, I love to see it,” Chenle exclaimed when he entered the dressing room with Jisung in tow.

Jaemin and Jeno echoed their thanks.

“Let’s get right into it then,” Jisung sat down on the couch with Chenle like he did last time. “What questions do you have?”

Jeno went through the standard questions about pay, hours, and how they pictured the project progressing. Jaemin didn’t pipe up once until Jeno ran out of questions.

“Original productions are very risky for an actor to be in, you know. Why should we take that risk? What makes you think this show will be beneficial for us when this is your first time writing and directing an original production.” Jaemin hit hard. 

Jeno almost wanted to scold him for it, but he had to admit that it was a valid question. No matter how much Jeno loved the play Chenle and Jisung had written, he had worries about the success or lack thereof that it would face once it debuted.

“Fantastic question, Jaemin,” Chenle said, “and one I believe I have a fantastic answer to match. First off, I already have some theaters in mind that I’m confident we’ll be able to use for this show. Second, I have this confidence because I have some wonderful sponsors back this show: a Johnny and Taeyong Suh-Lee, and Taeil Moon.”

Jeno’s jaw dropped and he heard Jaemin take a sharp inhale of air.

“Taeyong Lee? As is famous choreographer Taeyong Lee?  _ And  _ Taeil Moon, the playwright of numerous modern classics?” Jaemin asked. “How did you get both of them to sponsor this? Hell, how did you get  _ one _ of them on board?”

“Well, I just had to get them to read my script and tell them my plan for it. If you’re wondering how I managed to get them to read it; I have connections.” Chenle grinned.

“And what connections are those?” Jeno questioned.

“You know Kun Qian. He’s my cousin, and he’s actually the one that convinced me to come see this show for you two. Anyway, Kun’s husband, Ten, has worked with Taeyong on many connections, so they’re good friends with him. Kun is also friends with Taeil because he’s been reviewing Taeil’s shows since he debuted his first one.”

“Oh my god,” Jaemin flopped back in his chair.

“We’re very grateful for their support, we were so grateful when they even decided they’d read the script.” Jisung subtly flicked Chenle’s knee. “Now, are either of you ready to make a decision?”

Jaemin spoke up before Jeno got the chance. “I’ll do it.”

Chenle and Jisung looked at Jeno expectantly.

“I’ll do it as well,” Jeno confirmed, “I’m very excited. I’m very taken with this play, it’s brilliant.”

“Thank you so much, Jeno, Jaemin. This is perfect timing, actually. We’re currently working on casting the rest of the play, and we should have the full cast by the time this show closes, so we’ll be able to do our first read through soon! Ah, I’m so excited. I’m thrilled you’re joining us, really.” Chenle got up and shook Jaemin and Jeno’s hands. “I’ll text both of you and let you know when I schedule the first read through. We look forward to working with both of you.”

Jisung smiled at them then guided Chenle out of the dressing room. Jeno followed them out once he had his bag slung over his shoulder. He had made it out far enough to see Doyoung and Jaehyun talking to Jisung and Chenle when he felt a tug on his backpack.

“I need to talk to you alone,” Jaemin said when Jeno turned around. Jeno saw Jaemin glance over Jeno’s shoulder to see if anyone was near them. When he spotted Doyoung, Jaehyun, Chenle, and Jisung, his eyes became wide. 

“Oh my god is that Jaehyun Jung?” Jaemin whispered.

“Um, yeah. Why?”

“Just– get in the dressing room.” Jaemin pushed Jeno inside and closed the door behind him.

“Can you try to make it quick? Doyoung and Jaehyun are waiting for me.”

“You know Jaehyun Jung?”

“What? Yeah, I know Jaehyun, he’s my agent’s fianceé and I’m pretty close with Doyoung.”

“He’s engaged? To Doyoung? I’ve heard rumors about Jaehyun Jung being engaged, but I thought they were all false, and I certainly never thought Jaehyun Jung would be engaged to Doyung of all people.”

“First off, stop calling him Jaehyun Jung, what the hell is wrong with you? Second, is there something wrong with him being engaged to Doyoung? Are you some creepy fanboy?”

Jaemin’s face burned red. “I’ll admit I am a fan of Jaehyun– of Jaehyun, but I’m not creepy! I just admire him a lot.”

“And you think he’s hot, like the rest of the world, I’m sure. Did you bring me in here to talk about  _ Jaehyun Jung _ , because if so, I’m leaving.” Jeno turned around only to be stopped by a yank on his bag again.

“That’s not what I wanted to talk about.”

Jeno sighed. “Okay. What do you want to talk about then?”

“I want you to know that I’m not doing this show for you.”

“I kinda figured. You don’t owe me anything, Na.”

“I know that,” Jaemin hissed, “what I mean is that when we talked to Chenle and Jisung, I was still on the fence about accepting because of you. I don’t want to work with you.”

“That makes two of us,”

“Let me finish. I’m doing this because I think it’s a good opportunity for me. And I don’t want you to fuck it up by making this whole process a living hell for me. Don’t talk to me, don’t talk about me, leave me alone unless we’re working together.”

“I was already planning to do all of those things before you told me to. I don’t like working with you either, not talking to you will make things better for me too, you know.”

“Good,” Jaemin sniffed, “don’t text or call me either.”

Jaemin held his head up in a way Jeno found unbearably snobbish and left. The only reason not talking to Jaemin would be hard for Jeno was that he would have to stop himself from calling Jaemin out and arguing with him. Jeno wished he could ignore Jaemin, but there was just something about Jaemin that drove him crazy and forced Jeno to pay attention to him.

Jeno came out of the dressing room as well and founf Jaehyun talking to Jaemin.

“Great job, Jaemin. I really enjoyed your performance.” Jaehyun clapped Jaemin on the back. Jeno thought Jaemin’s knees were going to give out.

“Thank you, Jae- Jaehyun. I’m glad you like- you enjoyed it. I’m a fan of yours, I really loved you in- in, um, everything you’ve been in. I really admire you, I want to be able to act like you.”

Jaehyun laughed. “Thanks! But you shouldn’t want to act like me. You’re already great, man, there’s nothing about my acting you need to emulate when you’re already so talented.”

Jeno rolled his eyes. He would be so pissed off if he had to pick up a faint Jaemin from the ground. Although maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Jeno got to smack Jaemin to help revive him. Jeno never got that opportunity though, as Jaemin was shaking Jaehyun’s hand and practically running out of the theater, likely holding in squeals as he went.

“Hi Jeno! Nice job, you were really good. Your colleague is nice, he was good as well, the whole show was great.” Jaehyun smiled.

“You shouldn’t have said that, Jae.” Doyoung shook his head.

Jaehyun raised his eyebrows. “Said what?”

“That you thought Jaemin was nice,” Doyoung responded, “Jaemin is Jeno’s archnemesis.”

“He is not my archnemesis, he’s not important to me like one would be. He’s just a nuisance. Jaemin’s obsessed with you, Jaehyun, he’s upset that you’re marrying Doyoung and not him.” Jeno said.

“That’s so not true, Jeno,” Doyoung protested.

Jaehyun laughed. “I’ve met crazy, obsessed fans that think we’re soulmates, Jeno, and Jaemin was nothing like that. It just seems like he really admires me, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Why do you not like Jaemin?”

“No, don’t get him started.” Doyoung grabbed Jaehyun’s wrist and began leading him outside, forcing Jeno to follow him. “He won’t shut up about Jaemin when he starts talking about him.”

“Doyoung,” Jeno whined.

“I’m just telling the truth, Jeno, you’re obsessed with him. I know he lives in your head rent free. You just need to accept it so that you’ll start focusing on something else other than Jaemin, Jaemin, Jaemin.”

“You’re supposed to be on my side,” Jeno pouted.

“I am, that’s why I want you to stop obsessing over Jaemin so that you can focus on something more productive. It’s only because I care about you, Jen.” Doyoung pat Jeno’s cheek. “Come on, let’s go to mine and Jaehyun’s apartment and we can drink. We have a lot to talk about since I’m assuming you both accepted the job.”

The trio were able to walk to Jaehyun and Doyoung’s apartment because it was close enough to the theater and it was warm enough outside. On their way, Jaehyun updated them on the film he was shooting while he was away and shared all of his opinions on Jeno’s performance.

“I think Chenle and Jisung’s show should open a couple of doors for you, Jeno.” Jaehyun said as they kicked their shoes off in the apartment’s entryway. “Chenle’s a really good writer, and I know he’ll be a great director too. I always thought he should’ve been the one sitting in the director’s chair when he was working in production.”

“You knew Chenle before today?” Jeno asked in disbelief. “Doyoung, I thought you said you didn’t know much about Chenle.”

“I just found out when he came to talk to us.” Doyoung sighed. “Jaehyun’s mentioned him, but he never put the name to the person.”

“Chenle was on the production team for a movie I’ve been in. He had a really minor job, and I found out he was working in production because he wanted to get up close with the production and direction of movies. He’s a sweet kid, I really like him.” Jaehyun informed.

“Uh, this is a weird question, but do you know if Chenle is in a relationship?” Jeno questioned.

Jaehyun laughed. “What, are you interested in him? I can’t blame you, he’s good looking and charismatic, isn’t he?”

Jeno’s face burned. “No, I’m not interested in him! I was just curious if him and Jisung are together,”

Jaehyun shook his head. “I wouldn’t know, he’s never mentioned a partner as long as I’ve known him, but he’s never talked about dating either. Chenle doesn’t care much about his image, but he likes to keep his private life private.”

“Good thing I didn’t take Doyoung’s advice and ask him then,”

Doyoung pushed Jeno farther into the apartment. “You’re the one who’s curious, punk.”

“Okay, let’s settle down,” Jaehyun soothed, “how about a pinot grigio to celebrate your success, Jeno?”

“We should be celebrating your success, Jaehyun, I haven’t succeeded yet.” Jeno objected.

Well,  _ I  _ think you have. We’re celebrating either way.” Jaehyun insisted.

Doyoung left the living room to grab the bottle of wine and glasses while Jeno and Jaehyun settled on the couch.

“So, you’re not interested in Chenle, is there someone you  _ are _ interested in? Have you been seeing anyone lately?” Jaehyun interrogated.

“Ugh, absolutely not. I can’t afford to date right now, nobody wants to date an actor that struggles to pay rent every month.”

“Doyoung dated me when I was that actor, and look at us now, we’re getting married! I want you to try to bring a date to our wedding, Jeno. You deserve to find someone you want to share your experiences with.”

“I appreciate the thought, Jaehyun, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to promise you anything. But if you really want me to, I’ll try to find a date for your wedding.”

Doyoung entered the living room again. “Geez, Jae, you were serious about that?”

Jaehyun and Jeno both accepted a glass from Doyoung.

“Of course I was! I know you want him to bring a date too, Doie.”

“Of course I want him to bring a date, I just didn’t think you would tell him about it and make him promise he’d try.”

Jeno changed the subject. “Um, this pinot is great. A major upgrade from the boxed wine in my fridge.”

“You’re drinking boxed wine?” Jaehyun gasped.

“Uh… yes?”

Jaehyun shook his head and got up.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No, Jaehyun’s just a little dramatic. You should understand, it’s an actor thing, isn’t it?” Doyung assured.

Jaehyun was back quickly, and in his hands he held a glass bottle. “This is for you,” he handed the bottle to Jeno. “It’s our favorite red wine, I hope you make good use of it. Maybe you can bring someone over and set the mood with this instead of boxed wine.”

“Aw, thanks Jaehyun, you didn’t have to.”

“Oh yes I absolutely had to. You're practically Doyoung’s, and therefore my child, I can’t have a child of mine drinking boxed wine all the time.”

“I’m so sorry I have committed this crime against humanity,” Jeno joked.

“You should be,” Jaehyun sniffed, “you’re lucky I’m able to forgive and redeem you. Now drink more, you need to get started on your second glass soon if you want the redemption.”

The week of closing, Chenle texted Jeno to tell him the first table read of the script would be the Wednesday after they closed. He also told Jeno not to bring his script, as he had revised copies of it he would give out. 

Jeno was glad that Chenle gave him time to relax for a bit after the show closed, with the increased demand they had for tickets, Jeno was now performing twice each day on the weekends. 

When closing did finally come, Jeno hardly remembered until he was putting on his costume. 

_ This is my last time wearing this, _ Jeno realized. It was also his last time sharing this dressing room with Jiwoo and Jaemin, it was his last time going on stage with them and singing their songs together, and it was his last time taking his bow. 

They received a standing ovation, and out of the corner of his eye, Jeno could see Chuu tearing up a little. Jeno wrapped an arm around her and gave a little side hug.

When they came offstage, Jungwoo and Sicheng hugged and congratulated them. As much as Jungwoo pissed him off in that review, Jeno was going to miss him. He was a damn good director and he was great to work with because of his kind and playful nature.

“Sicheng, Jungwoo, will you come see me in my next show?” Jiwoo asked.

“Of course, Jiwoo,” Jungwoo said while Sicheng nodded in agreement. “And we’ll come to your show too, Jeno and Jaemin. I’m very excited to see it, Yuta told me it’s written quite well.”

Jeno smiled. “Yes, I do think it is.”

Everyone involved in the show went out for drinks together. Jeno promised Jiwoo he'd come see her next show, and he managed to avoid Jaemin the whole night with the whole crew present.

Jeno spent his two days off mostly alone. He liked to have time by himself, but as an actor it was rare for him to have a day without interacting with anybody but his cat. With all the time he had for himself, Jeno found himself re-energized come Wednesday morning.

On the way to the studio Chenle rented for the first rehearsals, Jeno had a pep in his step. He loved what he did for a living, even with how hard it had been. It was all worth it for him; nothing could bring him down.

Except Jeno had a rude awakening when he remembered he was working with Jaemin Na. Not to mention he was working with Jaemin Na in a show where the had to pretend to longfor , yearn for, and eventually love each other.

Jaemin was coming into the studio at the same time as Jeno. Jeno barely even looked at him, but they caught eyes, and Jaemin immediately turned his nose up and sped up his pace.

Jeno trudged in behind him, his mood slightly dampered, though it was brought up when he saw Chenle and Jisung. They reminded him he was here for the amazing play and all the opportunities it would bring him.

“Good morning to our leading me!” Chenle cheered. “You two are the first ones here, so go ahead and take a seat at the table where your name tags are placed.”

Jeno unenthusiastically sat next to Jaemin. Although he didn’t have a choice in the matter, Jaemin still shot Jeno a dirty look and scooted his chair away.

“Chenle’s so excited, he’s been up all night,” Jisung shared. “But I’m excited as well, I only know because I did the same. Here are your revised scripts. Chenle is most definitely going to change it up again.”

“As much as I love my baby, she’s not quite perfect yet. I won’t be handing out a new script every time I make revisions, so make sure you mark the changes. I’ll only give you a new one once I’ve made a ton of major revisions.” Chenle said.

Chenle began digging through his bag. He pulled out several more scripts and laid out one for each name tag left on the table.

“Chenle, you’re going to have to explain all of this to the rest of the cast when they get here,” Jisung placed a hand on Chenle’s shoulder.

Chenle paused and looked behind him at Jisung. “I know. I’m just… you know.”

Jisung nodded in understanding. “Is there anything I can do right now?” he said, more softly this time.

“Yes, please. Could you go downstairs and fill the pitcher with water?”

“I can do that, I’ll be right back,”

Chenle placed his hand over the hand Jisung had on his shoulder and squeezed it. “Thank you,” he breathed.

Jeno looked down at his script when Chenle turned back to Jeno and Jaemin.

“You two seem close,” Jaemin commented, brash and thoughtless as usual.

“We are,” Chenle smiled, “Jisung is my best friend. We do everything together, and he’s always so supportive of me.”

Jaemin raised his eyebrows and took a sip from his giant iced coffee.

“Wow, that coffee is dark,” Chenle remarked, “what is it?”

“Iced Americano with three shots,” Jaemin responded.

Jeno’s eyebrows shot up; there was no way that was good for him– not that it was any concern of Jeno’s.

“Oh my god, three? How do you drink that straight?” Chenle gawked.

“I like the taste,” Jaemin said nonchalantly.

Jeno didn’t think Chenle would have a response to that, so it was a good thing that three people entered the studio.

“Ah, hello!” Chenle approached them and shook all of their hands. “It is wonderful to see you three! Take the seat with your name tag, we’ll go around and start introductions once the last three people get here.”

Jisung entered the room with the full pitcher and set it in the center of the table. “Feel free to help yourselves, I’ll fill it up again when it empties.” he turned to Chenle. “Who are we waiting on?”

“Ummm, Dejun, Yangyang, and–”

“Good morning everyone!” Chenle was cut off by a man entering the studio, a smaller man trailing in behind him.

“Yangyang! Great to see you, and is that Dejun behind you? Yes, don’t be shy, Dejun, I’m so glad you’re here.” Chenle gestured over to the table. “Sit at the place with your name tag, revised scripts are on the table, please take one.”

Yangyang and Dejun joined the table. Jeno leaned over to figure out the name of the man sitting on his other side.  _ Renjun _ , it read.

Jeno thought Renjun was cute as he tapped away on his phone. He hoped he might get the chance to talk to him after the read through finished today, perhaps even get his number– for totally professional reasons, of course.

“Haseul! Our final cast member is here! Please take the seat with your nametag and we’ll start introductions!” Chenle proclaimed.

Jeno’s head shot over to the woman who just came in.

“Haseul,” Jeno beamed, “it’s been forever!”

“Oh, Jeno,” Haseul set her bag down and raced over to Jeno’s seat. “I’m sorry it’s been so long.” 

Jeno got up and hugged her. “No, it’s my fault, I know how busy you are.”

“It’s both of our faults, but now we’re together again.” Haseul kissed Jeno’s cheek and returned to her seat.

Chenle slid into his chair. “And how do you two know each other?”

“We were in  _ Phantom  _ together, we became really good friends.” Haseul explained.

“That’s fantastic, I want everyone here to have strong bonds and it looks like you two have a head start!” Chenle clapped his hands together. “Let’s get started, shall we? You all know me, of course, and Jisung. I want to go over a couple of things then we’ll go around and introduce ourselves. First of all, I gave each of you a revised script. I  _ will _ make more changes, so make sure you mark them down, I won’t give you another script unless I make any major revisions. Second, I have a tentative rehearsal schedule set for the next two weeks. Please review it and contact me if there are any complications. I’m sure you all already know that because of the size of the cast, everyone is called for every rehearsal, so if I need to adjust anything, let me know ASAP.

“You heard me mention earlier that I want everyone in this cast to have a strong bond, yes? This show requires a cast that is finely tuned into each other, so we’ll be working on some ensemble building and I expect you all to get to know each other, which shouldn’t be hard considering how much time you’ll spend together in rehearsals. Any questions so far? No? Okay then, let’s move on.

“I’d like for everyone to go around and introduce themselves. Say whatever you please about yourself, but please make sure to introduce your role as well. I’m Chenle, I went to NYU for college, I have been living in New York City for about four years now, and I am the director and a co-writer of this production.”

“I’m Jisung, I’m the other co-writer of this production though Chenle wrote a majority of it, and I’m also the stage manager.”

“That’s all you have to say about yourself, Ji?” Chenle sighed. “Okay, let’s have Jaemin start, then Donghyuck, and so on.”

Jaemin took a big sip of his coffee. “Hiya~” Jaemin flashed his charming smile that Jeno was sure everyone would fall for. “I’m Jaemin, I’m a UMich alumnus, but I’ve lived in NYC all my life. Aside from theater, my passion is cooking. I play Ransom, who is in love with Gil but can’t seem to accept it for a majority of the show.”

Next up was Donghyuck. “The name’s Donghyuck, but you can call me Hyuck or Hyuckie if you don’t get on my bad side, but Duckie is reserved for my boyfriends only. Being an actor and having two boyfriends is really exhausting, so in my free time I like to sleep. My character is Jacky, Ransom’s best friend. Jacky plays a pretty important role because he helps Ransom on his personal journey.”

“What’s up, I’m Yangyang! I’m super psyched to be here, I don’t usually do straight plays, but I wanted to give it a shot. I’m from Jersey, and I’m not just an actor, I am also a soundcloud rapper. I play Luke, Ransom’s little brother. Luke was practically raised by Ransom, so he really looks up to him, but he’s the first family member to ever take care of Ransom when Ransom begins struggling.”

The only other woman aside from Haseul began her introduction. “Good morning everyone, my name’s Heejin.”

Jeno was shocked by how deep Heejin’s voice was in contrast to the cute, sweet vibe she gave off.

“I’ve been doing west end shows in Chicago for a while, but last year I moved here. I miss my mom and dad, but otherwise I’m glad I moved here, I was hoping for an opportunity to be in an original production and I was able to find one. I’m Lily, Gil’s younger sister. I’m sure you all already know, but I do die, which helps Gil and Ransom move past their resentment for each other, since I was really good friends with Ransom before I died.”

Haseul went next. Jeno gave her a reassuring smile.

“Hello all, my name is Haseul. I trained all of my life to be an opera singer, but after I went through college I dropped opera and began auditioning for shows on Broadway. I also don’t do straight plays that often, considering my vocal background. I’m hoping this show will help me to strengthen my acting skills. I’ll be playing Gil’s older sister, Calla, who is overall a big role model for Gil. She helps Gil out a lot with Lily’s death despite her own suffering, and is pretty much his biggest cheerleader the whole play.”

“I’m Dejun, um, like Haseul I mostly sing, I’m usually the designated male belter in a show, so I am very excited to show everyone my acting!”

When Dejun was silent, Jeno found him to be strikingly handsome, but from the moment he opened his mouth, Jeno’s brain was screaming at him how adorable Dejun was. 

“I’m going to be playing Ivan. Ivan is Gil’s friend from college, and he’s quite important to Gil since Gil doesn’t really have any friends but his sister after he loses Ransom for a while.”

They finally reached Renjun after Dejun finished. Jeno moved forward on his seat.

“Hey, I’m Renjun, I’m from Boston, I went to Columbia University. Ash is my character; he’s Gil’s first and only boyfriend, since Gil marries Ransom before they even go out on a date. Ash gets Gil to be more comfortable in his own skin and ends up becoming a lifelong friend of Gil’s a while after their breakup. I personally think Ash really pushes Guil’s boundaries and introduces him to things Gil would otherwise never know about.”

Jeno nodded in agreement. He felt that Renjun had perfectly described Ash.

“Fuck,” Jeno cursed when Jaemin kicked his shin. He turned to shoot a death glare, but Jaemin wasn’t even looking at him. Jeno would make Jaemin look at him, but he knew it was his turn to introduce himself, and it just wasn’t professional to do that while working anyway. He was better than Jaemin, who clearly had no qualms about being unprofessional.

Jeno cleared his throat. “Sorry about that. I’m Jeno,” Jeno put on his brightest eye smile. “I moved to New York right after I graduated high school and began auditioning for shows after I participated in a one-year musical theater conservatory. The first professional show I was ever in was Newsies, and it’s still one of my favorites that I’ve been in. I’m playing Gil. Gil is very obviously pining for Ransom throughout the show but he’s kind of timid and he’s concerned about what time will hold for him and Ransom.”

“Wonderful, very wonderful everyone. Let’s dive right into the script! Jisung will read stage directions, and I’ll be taking notes, so if I’m looking down and scribbling, I’m not not paying attention.” Chenle pulled out a notebook and a pen for himself. “Everyone have a writing utensil? Good, let us begin!”

After rehearsal, while Jeno was packing up his things, he cornered Jaemin.

“What the fuck was that when we were going through introductions?” He hissed. “You made me look like a fool, and it was extremely unprofessional of you.”

“You don’t need me to look like a fool, Jeno Lee, you’re doing it just fine on your own. You were too busy nodding along to whatever Renjun was saying that you weren’t paying attention. You were taking forever to start your introduction, I think  _ that’s _ very unprofessional.”

Jeno clenched his teeth. God, Jaemin was such a brat.

“Is anyone else taking the L? Renjun and I are about to leave,” Donghyuck announced.

Jeno shot one more glare at Jaemin before heading over to Donghyuck. “I am! It’ll be nice to have some company on the way home.”

Renjun smiled at Jeno. “It will be. Duckie and I need more people to talk to, we’ll be seeing way too much of each other at home  _ and  _ at work now too.”

Jeno’s eyebrows furrowed together. Did Renjun just call Donghyuck Duckie? Or did he just say Donghyuckie really fast? Were Renjun and Donghyuck  _ dating _ ?

Donghyuck took Renjun’s hand. “Okay, if it’s just us three, let’s get going, it’s supposed to be arriving in eight minutes.

Jeno rushed over to say goodbye to Haseul. “I’ll text you, I promise. I’m really happy to be working with you again.” Jeno hugged his friend then ran after Renjun and Donghyuck.

“So, you two live together then? How long has that been going on?” Jeno asked once they were comfortably situated on the subway.

“Jun and I have been living together for about a year now, but we moved like, three months ago?” Donghyuck answered.

“Three months ago,” Renjun confirmed, “Duckie and I met at an audition for a show neither of us got casted in. It just so happened that we both were looking for someone to live with at the time.”

Jeno bit his lip and tried to think of another question to subtly find out if Renjun was single or not. “Why did you move?”

“Our boyfriend began renting an apartment for all three of us,” Donghyuck recalled fondly, “he’s the moneymaker in our relationship. Major upgrade from where Renjun and I were living before.”

Jeno was glad he was an actor so he could hide the slight disappointment in his tone. “Ah, it must be nice dating someone and being financially stable with them.”

“It’s rough working as an actor,” Renjun huffed.

“Do you not have a partner, Jeno?” Donghyuck asked.

Jeno couldn’t help the giggle that escaped him. “No, no, I’ve been single for a while. No one really wants to date a broke actor, you know?”

Donghyuck frowned. “Come on, that’s not true, our boyfriend took on  _ two  _ broke actors and our relationship is great! And you're so handsome Jeno, surely you have people lining up to date you, you’re probably just blind to who.”

“Pshaw, thanks Hyuck.”

“This is our stop,” Renjun murmured.

“That it is. It was nice meeting you, Jeno!” Donhyuck grinned.

“We look forward to working with you,” Renjun chimed in.

“Same with me, see you Friday!” Jeno waved once they stepped off the train.

Well, Jeno tried, but he figured he would have to tell Jaehyun he won’t be able to bring a date to his wedding because the first person he considered asking out was taken. Jeno had already done a lot of work, especially when taking into account that Jeno’s love life had only consisted of one night stand for about two years.

When Jeno arrived home, he texted Jaehyun and Doyoung to let them know. He tossed his phone aside, not bothering to wait for a reply. Jeno flopped down onto the bed face first, startling Bongsik and causing her to jump off the bed and slink away.

Jeno fell asleep like that, happy to take a nap after working all day. Unfortunately, that happiness did not stay with Jeno when he woke up sweaty in the clothes he hadn’t taken off and uncomfortably warm with Bongsik asleep on his back.

Jeno pushed himself up onto his hands so that Bongsik would jump off of his back. He rolled over and reached for his phone on the floor. Jeno wasn’t quite ready to get out of bed yet, so he decided to lay there until he had motivation. There was one text notification on Jeno’s lockscreen, and it was from Jaehyun. Jeno laughed and shook his head when he read Jaehyun’s response.

_ It was only your first try– maybe the timing isn’t right yet! Keep your eyes open, I have a feeling someone’s waiting for you right now!! _

At every single rehearsal, Jaemin annoyed the living hell out of Jeno. Jeno tried his best to ignore Jaemin and focus on his actual job, but because his job involved interacting with Jaemin, it was kind of difficult. What really irritated Jeno was that he was doing what Jaemin asked him to; he was staying out of his way, but Jaemin still did things that forced Jeno to pay attention to him only for Jaemin to act like Jeno didn’t exist once he acknowledged Jaemin. 

The only solace Jeno found was how well he was getting along with the rest of the cast. However, even that was nearly ruined by how much the cast liked Jaemin. Everyone seemed to find him charming and bubbly, only Jeno saw how much of a menace and a nuisance he really was, and it frustrated him to no end. It wouldn’t have hurt Jeno that much, but because Chenle wanted everyone in the group to have a “strong bond,” Jeno was forced to watch all of his co-workers fall for Jaemin Na as they spent more time together and got to know each other.

Not to mention that Jeno was  _ exhausted _ . Between rehearsals and cast bonding time, Jeno was working as a delivery boy for extra cash. Jeno hated it, but the hours were flexible and he needed to pay rent  _ and  _ feed himself.

Unfortunately for Jeno, all of this made him ten more times impatient with Jaemin, which only made things worse. 

During today’s rehearsal, Chenle was directing ensemble building activities. He must have taken notice of Jeno and Jaemin’s antics, because he called a ten minute break and shouted “recharge!”, prompting Jisung to come over and give him a hug. This wasn’t necessarily anything to worry about, it was a pretty normal sight, but today Chenle held onto Jisung until the break ended.

“Okay, I’m cutting rehearsal short today,” Chenle announced thirty minutes after the break. “You all look exhausted, so go home and get some rest. I’ll also be cancelling tomorrow’s rehearsal, so sleep in and recharge. At the next rehearsal I’m going to be giving you a revised script. I think I’m getting close to finalizing it. Great work today, everyone! Jaemin and Jeno please see me and Jisung once you get your things together.”

Jeno’s stomach churned. There was no way this was a good thing. Chenle was probably going to chew them out, maybe he would even fire them because of how difficult they had been to work with. Either way, Jeno was prepared to beg for forgiveness.

“You wanted to talk to me?” Jeno asked once he approached Chenle and Jisung, bag in hand.

“Yes, you and Jaemin together. We’ll talk once everyone leaves,” Chenle said, his lips forming a pout.

Jisung sent Jeno a reassuring smile. “I know it feels like being sent to the principal’s office right now,” Jisung whispered, “but don’t worry, you’re not in trouble.”

Jeno said a quiet thank you as Jaemin joined them. Soon after, the studio was empty and completely silent.

“Do either of you have something to do anytime soon?” Chenle asked.

Jeno shook his head.

Chenle smiled. “Great, we’re going to go out for dinner together. What are you feeling like, Jisungie? I think I want fish,”

“I’ll eat whatever you’d like, Lele. Jeno, Jaemin, any thoughts?”

Jeno shrugged his shoulders.

“I think fish sounds good,” Jaemin agreed, “maybe sushi?”

Chenle perked up a bit at that. “Yes, we can go to that sushi place we’ve been wanting to try, Jisung. Is that okay with you, Jeno?”  
“Yeah, of course,” Jeno lied, secretly worried about the price. Sushi could be too damn expensive in the city.

“Ah, perfect,” Chenle clapped his hands together. “Jaemin, you drove here, right?”

“I did, I can drive us all if either of you didn’t bring a car,” Jaemin offered.

“If that’s okay with you,” Jisung added.

“Don’t worry about it, let’s go,” Jaemin tossed his keys in his hand and led them out to his car.

“Jeno, sit up front, Jisung and I will sit in the back,” Chenle offered.

“No, I can sit in the back, you–”

“I’m not asking you, I’m going to sit in the back with Jisung,” Chenle insisted with an unsettling smile.

Jeno decided it was best to comply, so he got into the passenger seat, only to receive the stink eye from Jaemin. Jeno wanted to slam his head onto the dash.

The two up front stayed silent the whole ride while Chenle held a conversation by himself with only Jisung humming his responses occasionally. Clearly, Chenle was the only one in the car who could not sense the heavy tension– that or he just didn’t care. Jeno supposed that based on what he knew about Chenle, it was probably the latter.

Chenle’s chatter continued until a waiter passed out menus for the table, and Chenle became too occupied with searching through it.

Jeno gulped when he saw how much everything cost. It wasn’t terrible, but it was still too much for Jeno. He supposed he would have to claim he wasn’t hungry and survive off of water until he got home.

“Jisungie, can we split this?” Chenle slid the menu across the table and pointed where he wanted Jisung to read.

“Sounds good to me,” Jisung responded.

“Jeno, what are you getting?” Chenle asked.

“Ah, I’m not really hungry right now,” Jeno tried to brush it off.

“What? There’s no way you’re not hungry, so order something. I’m paying anyway, so take advantage of it. If you order the cheapest thing on the menu I’m going to take it as an insult.” Chenle closed his menu.

Jeno laughed and opened his menu again, unsure how to respond. Lucky for him, Chenle focused his attention on Jaemin until the waiter came to take their order. Once the waiter left, Chenle leaned forward in his seat and angled his body to face Jaemin beside him and Jeno diagonal to him.

“I have to admit something. I didn’t bring you here just for a casual dinner, this is work related too, though I do want us to enjoy ourselves.” Chenle ran a hand through his hair and glanced at Jisung. “Both of you are connecting so well with the rest of the cast, but we’ve noticed recently that the two of you aren’t bonding like you are with everyone else. I know you both take your job very seriously, and you’re phenomenal actors. However, I need you to take you relationship with each other seriously. To portray Gil and Ransom’s relationship as it is, you guys need to understand each other so we can see that come out in the bond between your characters. I don’t pretend to know what your relationship is like, but we need to focus on it for the sake of the show. You don’t have to love each other, just  _ understand _ each other.  _ Know _ each other. Does that make sense?”

Jeno knew Chenle wasn’t technically scolding him, but he still felt like a reprimanded child. “Yes,” he said.

“We’ll work on it,” Jaemin added.

The look on Jaemin’s face was far too irritated for Jeno’s liking,  _ was _ Jaemin taking this seriously? To Jeno it sure seemed like he wasn’t. How was he supposed to come to understand someone who wouldn’t bother to even try to understand him?

Chenle wiggled his shoulders. “Great! Don’t look so down, that was all I had to say, and see? No one’s in trouble. Let’s enjoy our meal and each other’s company!”

Jaemin continued to pretend like Jeno did not exist outside of rehearsals for the next couple of days. Jeno attempted to get his attention after work, but Jaemin either ignored him or gave him a dirty look, if Chenle and Jisung weren't watching them.

Now Jaemin lived in Jeno’s mind 24/7 and built up his worry about this job more and more. He was constantly brainstorming ways to approach Jaemin or extend some kind of olive branch to him, but Jeno was sure that even if he could suck up his pride and offer Jaemin a whole damn olive tree, it would simply be chopped down. Jeno knew he should at least try, but his ego wouldn’t be able to handle it, if he was being realistic.

All of this replayed in his mind as he was working his second job. He was off again to some bougie apartment building full of people that didn’t care about people like him who had to work two jobs to make ends meet. 

Jeno mumbled under his breath about rich people and their bullshit as he trudged through the complex up to the top floor to make his delivery. He was able to get himself to hold in his thoughts as he knocked on the door, but he hoped this customer would be quick with their transaction because he wasn’t sure he could stay quiet for too long.

“Hi there~”

The door opened to reveal a man wearing a seductive grin and a light pink robe that had been pulled down over his shoulder. Jeno recognized him as Jaemin Na.

“Um,” Jeno smartly said.

Jaemin pulled up the robe that was showing off his clavicle. “Oh,” and then: “What are you doing here?” the malice that spiced his usual tone with Jeno appeared.

“You ordered food, didn’t you? I’m just doing my job,” Jeno huffed. He really wanted to tell Jaemin off for being so rude, but that would definitely get him in trouble with his boss if Jaemin rated his delivery.

“Ugh yeah, I just– I was expecting someone, I guess he’s not coming.” Jaemin retreated back into his apartment but left the door open.

“Excuse me? You know you have to pay for this,” Jeno shouted loud enough for Jaemin to hear him.

“Just come in, Lee, and shut the door behind you! I’m getting your money for god’s sake,” Jaemin shouted back.

Jeno took a tentative step into Jaemin’s home. Never would he have pictured actually coming into Jaemin Na’s apartment, and willingly, at that, yet here he was: waiting for Jaemin Na in his huge ass apartment to come pay him while in a pink silk robe.

“Boy, isn’t this rich?” Jeno murmured as he took in his surroundings. Who the fuck has an apartment with a chandelier?

“What did you say?” Jaemin said as he came into the living room.

“Nothing. Who were you waiting for? There’s no way you’d order this much food and greet me like that if you weren’t expecting somebody. Unless you like to seduce everyone that delivers your food.”

Jeno swore he saw a blush rise on Jaemin’s cheeks.

“Um, yeah, I ordered way too much food for just me, I’ll probably have to throw most of it out,” Jaemin sighed and handed Jeno a fifty dollar bill.

“How much do I owe you with tip?” Jeno asked. “I have to put the food down to get out my wallet–”

“Nothing, keep the change as your tip,” Jaemin waved his hand.

Jeno’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. That was definitely way more than a twenty percent tip, which was what he usually considered to be generous. But of course Jaemin had plenty of money laying around so he could just throw it in the air.

“Wait, you’re going to throw most of this out?” Jeno asked in disbelief.

“It’s not like I can finish all of it alone,”

“Then save some of it! It’s so wasteful to just–”

“Oh my god if you’re so concerned you can stay and eat whatever I don’t, are you happy?” Jaemin threw his hands up in the air and collapsed onto his couch.

Jeno stared at him.

Jaemin rolled his eyes. “Are you going to help me eat all of this or not? I don’t have all night, you know.”

Now that Jeno was past his confusion he was pissed again. But he couldn’t turn down the offer. He was basically getting paid to eat dinner, and that was an offer he had never received before, so he trudged over and sat three feet away from Jaemin on his spacious couch. 

“I don’t like you enough to bite, Jeno.” Jaemin picked out one of the containers. “Hell yes, shrimp lo mein,”

Jeno opened another container while Jaemin dug into the lo mein. “You never told me who you were waiting for.”

“Maybe that’s because I didn’t want you to know, take a hint, Jeno Lee,” Jaemin sassed.

“Oh, well, uhhh,” Jeno fumbled to think of something to say.

“I was waiting for Kunhang,” Jaemin hung his head low. “I thought he would come surprise me today, but it’s obvious he’s not coming.”

Jeno picked through the fried chicken in his grip. “Was he supposed to come…?”

“No, I supposed not,” Jaemin paused. “I just– well, I figured– it’s my birthday, I thought he would surprise me but he either forgot or doesn’t know it’s my birthday.”

Jeno was surprised that Kunhang, who had seemed like such a sweet guy Jaemin was undeserving of, would forget Jaemin’s birthday.

“Uh, happy birthday? And sorry?”

“It’s fine. We’re not even official anyway, you know. We’ve been dating for a month and a half and we’re not official,” Jaemin said with bitterness laced in his voice.

Jeno stuffed his face with food so that he couldn’t respond.

“And I thought I was going to be the tentative one in this relationship. I haven’t introduced him to my friends yet, and he hasn’t introduced me to his. I thought I could wait until after we put a label on it, but it hasn’t happened yet. Maybe I should just introduce him to my friends and that’ll encourage him,”

Jeno gave an affirmative noise through the mass of chicken he was still chewing.

“God, I don’t know why I’m telling you this. Like you care. Like it matters at all.”

Jaemin began stuffing his own face with the shrimp lo mein, so Jeno took that as him not wanting a response.

Together, Jaemin and Jeno managed to finish the food off in no time (though it was Jeno doing most of the work while Jaemin sulked). Jaemin cleaned up silently and led Jeno back to his door.

“I’ll see you at rehearsal tomorrow,” Jeno said, trying to be friendly.

Jaemin didn’t respond. Once Jeno was out in the hall, he slammed the door.

Jeno hoped this interaction wasn’t going to make things worse between them at work.

Jeno’s hope was for nothing; things got much, much worse.

Of course, things stayed normal between Jaemin and the rest of the cast, but Jaemin hardly looked at Jeno.

They had moved to the theater they would perform in a couple of days after his late night dinner with Jaemin. Chenle handed them a brand new script when they walked into the theater that morning and announced that many lines had been changed and that they were going to start from scratch again with blocking now that Chenle was getting a feel for the space. 

When Jeno and Jaemin ran their scenes together, Jaemin couldn’t hold his eye contact with Jeno. Every time Jeno had to touch Jaemin, he flinched and looked insanely uncomfortable, which made Jeno uncomfortable too. 

Jeno was beginning to get angry. He didn’t like Jaemin one bit, but at least he could put that aside and be professional, but it seemed like the word professional no longer existed in Jaemin’s vocabulary. Jeno didn’t know what they were going to do when Chenle blocked the scenes where they kissed, Jeno did not want to kiss someone that was clearly disgusted with him.

After a few days of Jaemin’s skittishness and evident repulsion towards Jeno, Chenle pulled them aside after rehearsal again, this time without Jisung. Jeno figured that couldn’t be good news.

“What has gotten into you two?” Chenle hissed. 

They were standing in the house while the rest of the cast was on stage with Jisung.

“I told you to work on understanding each other and that clearly has not happened. I want to believe you two are doing your best, but I’m not convinced. If either of you were actually trying I think I would be seeing results because of how determined and hardworking both of you are,” Chenle continued.

Jeno and Jaemin both stayed quiet. Nothing they could say would make Chenle less upset at the moment.

“I’m going to have to intervene with the way you two are behaving,” Chenle sighed. “I just gave you a new script, so run lines with each other. Get familiar with saying these things and meaning them, for Christ's sake. Also, send me a selfie for proof. I’m serious, okay? You two need to get your shit together for the sake of this show. Jaemin, join everyone else on stage.”

Jeno shifted uncomfortably and watched Jaemin head towards the rest of the cast.

“Jeno,” Chenle inhaled sharply. “Do me a favor. Watch out for Jaemin and please make the effort with him even if he’s not cooperating very well.”

Jeno wanted to argue. Why did he have to be responsible and not Jaemin? But he had already dug himself into a whole, he shouldn’t make it worse.

“Why?” He asked instead.

Chenle looked around and leaned in closer to Jeno. “I know Jaemin is only showing it when he’s with you, but something’s wrong. Even with the others he’s still very… I don’t know how to put it. He seems off, that’s all. It would be nice for me to know that he has a co-worker that has his back, and maybe you’ll earn his trust once he figures that out for himself.”

Jeno nodded though he had yet to process that information.

“Thanks, Jeno,” Chenle whispered. “Jisung, recharge, now!” he then shouted.

Jeno walked away as quickly as he could before he could get ran over by Jisung rushing to meet Chenle. 

Onstage, he took a seat with his show sisters.

“What was that about?” Heejin asked, curiosity shimmering in her eyes.

“He just wanted to clarify some blocking with me and Jaemin,” Jeno lied. He was unsure whether it would be okay to share what Chenle had told him, so he decided to play it safe.

“Ah, Chenle is so stressed out lately,” Heejin laid back on the ground and put her script on her face. “Reading this I can understand why, he can’t be getting any sleep with how quickly he’s pumping out these revisions.”

Haseul lifted the script off of Heejin. “Everyone’s stressed right now, but if we take a step back for a moment, I’m sure we’ll all feel better.”

Heejin groaned and said something about life being a race she was losing, but Jeno didn’t really hear as he got up and made his way over to Renjun and Donghyuck.

Donghyuck was clinging onto Renjun’s arm like a vice while Renjun used his free arm to hold his phone. They both stared at it intently.

“Hey there social butterflies,” Jeno greeted, “don’t you know it’s bad for you to stare at your phone like that?”

Renjun’s head snapped up, and for a moment he looked almost menacing before he painted on a smile. “Oh, hi Jeno! We’re just checking in on our boyfriend because he’s picking us up today.”

“He’s horrible with directions so we have to pay attention to where he is so we can make sure he’s not lost.” Donghyuck rolled his eyes. “I swear, he’s actually a child.”

“But we love him anyway,” Renjun reminded him.

“Yes, for some reason we do love him,” Donghyuck echoed.

Jeno laughed. “Golly, he sounds like a catch.”

“You have no idea,” Donghyuck winked.

“Okay everyone, we’re going to take it from the final scene in Act 1 and wrap up with the opening scene in Act 2!” Jisung shouted from the house with Chenle still clinging onto him. “Places! Start us when you’re ready, Heejin,” he cued.

Jeno was hoping that Jaemin would be a bit better now that Chenle had given them a slap on the wrists, but he was just as bad as they stumbled through the intimate and emotional scene that was their reunion at Lily’s funeral. Jeno could see out into the house that Chenle wasn’t even looking, leaving Jisung to watch for him, and Jeno couldn’t even blame him.

Relief finally came when the scene ended. Jaemin practically pushed Jeno away and ran to get his bag and leave. Jeno shook his head and joined Renjun and Donghyuck once he had packed up.

“I want to meet this notorious boyfriend,” Jeno told them.

“He’s on his way in,” Renjun said, “he couldn’t wait in the car, apparently.”

“There he is,” Donghyuck pointed out into the audience then waved.

Jeno squinted at the person he saw waving back, his eyes must have been fooling him.

“Mark Lee?” Jeno shouted. 

Jaemin, who was just getting ready to leave, stopped dead in his tracks and scurried over to Donghyuck.

“Is that your fucking boyfriend?” Jeno heard Jaemin whisper.

“Sure is, our Mark Lee,” Donghyuck said proudly.

“Oh my god like famous choreographer Mark Lee? The one that Taeyong Lee collaborates with regularly?” Jaemin was gripping onto Donghyuck’s wrist now.

Jeno didn’t stick around to hear Donghyuck’s response, he went out into the house and approached Mark.

“Hey man, remember me?” Jeno laughed and stuck his hand out.

“Yo, dude, no way!” Mark took his hand and pulled him in for a hug. “What’s up man? It’s been a while!”

“Sure has, what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to pick up Duck and Jun,” Mark smiled.

“I cannot believe that last time I saw you you were hopelessly single but now you have two boyfriends? Proud of you, man,” Jeno complimented. 

Mark scratched the back of his neck. “Aha, yeah it’s crazy, but I love them, you know? Don’t know how it happened, but it did.”

“Markie, we told you you could wait in the car,” Donghyuck scolded when him, Jaemin, and Renjun joined them.

“But if I did I never would have known you were working with Jeno! Why didn’t you tell me?” Mark pouted.

“How were we supposed to know you knew him?” Renjun rolled his eyes. “How do you even know him anyway?”

“Back when I choreographed  _ Newsies _ Jeno here was the dance captain. Still don’t know how he managed to snag that title when it was his first show, but I’ll be damned if he wasn’t the best dancer in that production,” Mark slapped Jeno on the back.

“Ah, thanks, Mark.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jeno saw Jaemin hide behind Renjun as Mark talked more about his experience choreographing  _ Newsies _ .

“Who’s this?” Mark nodded his head over to Jaemin.

Jaemin stepped out to stand beside Renjun and wrung his hands together. “I’m Jaemin Na.”

“He’s the other lead in the show, he’s really good, Mark!” Donghyuck elaborated.

“I recognize you from somewhere,” Mark said, “were you perhaps in  _ Cats _ a couple of years ago? In the ensemble?”

Jeno couldn’t help the flush that took over his face at the mention of that show. He hoped the bad lighting covered it up.

Jaemin’s hands stopped. “I was, did you come to see it?”

“Yes, I did! You were fantastic in it, amazing movement, you really caught my eye!” Mark complimented.

Jaemin looked like he was about to combust. “...thank you, for– I’m glad you liked it.”

“Of course! It was nice to actually meet you, Jaemin. And Jeno, amazing to see you again, dude, I’m gonna get your number from Duck or Jun, okay? We’ll talk.” Mark shot finger guns at Jeno.

Jeno gave a thumbs up. “Sound great.”

“Alright then, Duckie, Junnie, you have everything? Ready to go?”

Renjun and Donghyuck confirmed and they each took one of Mark’s hands.

“See you tomorrow, Jeno and Jaemin!” Donghyuck waved behind him.

Jeno waved back then glanced at Jaemin, who was staring at the retreating forms of the lovers. He must have realized Jeno was looking at him, because Jaemin snapped his head towards him, and backed off like a frightened animal when they made eye contact.

Jeno let Jaemin leave the theater before him and even stayed for a few minutes to give Jaemin time to leave without seeing him.

Fuck. At this rate how was Jeno supposed to look after Jaemin when Jaemin wouldn’t even look at him?

At the next rehearsal, Chenle scheduled Jeno and Jaemin’s playdate of running lines together when he noticed how Jaemin avoided Jeno at all costs. 

Jeno nearly collapsed at how mortified he was. He should be able to handle this situation himself, but instead his boss, who was younger than him, had to intervene; not even just once, but multiple times.

When the day came, Jeno hoped Jaemin would actually show up to his apartment instead of ditching. He didn’t want to upset Chenle even more than he already had, and he hoped Jaemin felt the same way, especially since Chenle pulled him aside for a private conversation after he arranged their little rehearsal.

Jeno heard a knock on the door, jolting him out of his head. He jumped up from the couch and went to open the door. Jeno’s hand hesitated to twist the knob. On one hand, it would be really disappointing if it wasn’t Jaemin, because then that probably meant he wasn’t showing up and Chenle might rip his throat out if that happened. On the other hand, it would be a lot easier for Jeno to pretend like the problems that were happening as a result of Jaemin and Jeno’s relationship weren’t happening.

There was another knock.

Jeno took the leap and opened the door. He breathed a sigh of relief. “Hi, come in,”

Jaemin held his script close to his chest and stepped over the threshold. 

Jeno went over to the couch and closed his eyes for a moment. When it had been a minute and he hadn’t felt the weight of someone sitting next to him he opened his eyes to check if he had hallucinated Jaemin coming over. But he didn’t, Jaemin was still standing near the door and looking around the apartment– not that there was much to take in.

“Jaemin, come sit down so we can get started.” Jeno tried to make his voice more friendly, but it was difficult when he was watching Jaemin observe his tiny apartment with a look of disdain on his face.

Jaemin sat on the other side of Jeno’s couch, hugging his script even closer.

“Um, let’s just get into it from the top, then we can mark trouble scenes for later.” Jeno looked at Jaemin for some sign of affirmation, but Jaemin had his head buried in his script. Jeno took that as his cue to get started.

Halfway through the first scene, Jeno threw his script onto the coffee table and got up.

“This isn’t working,” he grunted.

“What?” Jaemin looked at Jeno for the first time since he arrived as Jeno left for the kitchen.

“What do you drink? You need to fucking relax.”

“What?” Jaemin asked again.

“What do you drink? Beer, wine, or… that’s all I have.” Jeno reached into his fridge to pull out a beer for himself.

Jaemin fidgeted. “Wine, uh, preferably red.”

Jeno was so lucky Jaehyun was his friend.

“Great, lucky for you I was just given a bottle of red for a gift,” Jeno searched for where he placed the red wine in his pantry. “Aha! And a glass… I’ve got to have at least one,” Jeno mumbled to himself until he appeared triumphant with a stemless glass and a corkscrew he didn’t know he had. Jeno brought all of it over to the living room and poured the beverage into Jaemin’s glass.

Jaemin accepted in tentatively and sniffed at it before taking a sip.

“Oh my god, what kind of friend gave you this?” Jaemin gasped.

Jeno nearly spat out his beer. “Is it that bad?”

“No, it’s fucking good, I could drink this like water,” Jaemin praised. “Keep the friend who gave you this around, they’re clearly amazing.”

Jeno nodded and continued to nurse his drink. Once Jaemin had finished his first glass, Jeno poured him more and they began running lines.

Everything was now running much more smoothly. Jeno couldn’t believe that was all he had to do to get Jaemin to act like a normal human being around him. Maybe he should start bringing a bottle of red to every rehearsal.

By the time they had made it through the whole script and went through a few trouble spots, Jeno had had only two beers while Jaemin had downed four glasses of the wine. He was clearly tipsy and on the brink of falling asleep.

Jaemin got up and packed away his stuff like he was going to leave, but Jeno stopped him.

“Hey man, I don’t think you should be driving in this state,” Jeno urged.

Jaemin fell onto the couch and stretched out his whole body, placing his head in Jeno’s lap. “Since when do you care about me?” he slurred.

“What? I may not like you, but I don’t want you to  _ die _ .”

Jaemin whined and looked up at Jeno. “I shouldn’t drive,” he agreed and his eyes fluttered shut.

“Ah ah, you’re not sleeping here,” Jeno protested.

“You just said I shouldn’t drive home.”

“What I meant is that you should get up and go sleep in my bed.”

Jaemin sat up at that, but he couldn’t seem to keep himself up, so he slumped over and rested his head on Jeno’s shoulder. “Stop seducing me, I’m not gonna sleep with you,”

Jeno wrapped an arm around Jaemin and hauled him to his feet. “You’re going to be sleeping in there  _ alone _ ,”

“Then where will you sleep?” Jaemin fixed his glassy eyes on Jeno’s profile.

“Doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. It’s none of your concern anyway.”

Jeno practically had to drag Jaemin to his room. He silently thanked his mom for getting on his case about keeping his room cleaned.

As Jeno helped ease Jaemin onto the bed, he noticed Jaemin’s staring and met his eyes.

“Do I have something on my face?”

Jaemin shook his head. Jeno figured he had no shame because he still didn’t look away, so Jeno didn’t either. 

Jaemin’s dark eyes were intense, filled with all these mysteries that Jeno wasn’t sure he wanted to solve. Jeno’s eyes flickered down to Jaemin’s lips. They were full and stained a deep red from the dark wine he was drinking, and for some reason, Jeno had trouble looking away.

Jaemin adjusted his arm where it was still holding onto Jeno. This snapped Jeno out of his stupor. He pulled the covers over Jaemin’s body and left as quickly as he could.

As Jeno made a makeshift bed on his couch, the scene played out in his head over and over in his head. He knew where his thoughts were headed in that moment, and it freaked him out. 

Jeno was a reasonable man. He knew that, objectively, Jaemin was a good looking guy. In fact, Jeno found himself super attracted to him when he saw him for the first time in  _ Cats _ . Doyoung had taken him as a birthday gift, and Jeno would’ve found the show to be weird if his attention wasn’t caught on the young ensemble member for the whole show. Jeno had never understood the appeal of petplay until he saw Jaemin prance around and dance in cat costume for two hours.

Okay, maybe now that Jeno thought about it, that was a little weird of him, but Jaemin was already so sexy in his tight costume and makeup that covered him up. Jeno couldn’t help but imagine how he’d look with cat ears, a cute collar, and– and Jeno needed to stop his train of thought now before it went too far. He was not going to get hard thinking about Jaemin because then he was going to jerk off and think about Jaemin, and he did not want to ruin their progress just because Jaemin was hot. It was fine. Jeno could be attracted to someone he didn’t like, it was natural. Who ever said you had to like every person you thought was good looking?

Jeno buried his face into the pillows. If he suffocated while he slept, maybe he wouldn’t have to deal with his stupid ape brain that only thought about getting laid.

Jeno woke up to the smell of something heavenly cooking. He wondered for a moment if his mom had come over without warning her. Jeno shot up at the thought, he did not need Jaemin to meet his mom and he did not need his mom getting the wrong idea about Jaemin.

However, instead of his mom standing in the kitchen, Jaemin was there instead. Jaemin hadn’t noticed him yet, so Jeno watched as he plated two meals.

The calm ambience was broken when Jaemin took notice of Jeno and nearly knocked the plates off of the counter. Jaemin cursed and managed to catch the plates while Jeno rushed over to help.

“Uh, sorry about that,” Jaemin said and stuck out a plate to Jeno.

“You made me breakfast?”

Jaemin nodded.

“You can cook?”

“Yes, but don’t say it like that, I’m not incompetent, you know.” Jaemin huffed.

Jeno shrugged. There was no way he was going to argue with Jaemin after Jaemin had made him kimchi and eggs for breakfast.

“Ah, and you’re fucking good at it too,” Jeno moaned between mouthfuls.

“Good thing I am, you have nothing in your fridge. How on earth do you live? What do you even eat?”  
“I’m not very good at cooking so I mostly just make myself ramen, egg fried rice, and stuff my mom leaves here when she visits.”

“Are you thirty or eighteen? You sound like every guy I went to college with,” Jaemin scoffed.

“Not being able to cook doesn’t make me helpless, asshole.”

“What kind of thirty-year-old can only cook two things and still relies on their mom for anything else? Grow up, for heaven’s sake.”

“Nobody ever fucking taught me,” Jeno fumed, “don’t just go around assuming things.”

Jaemin threw his hands up. “Great, now you know how I feel when you act like you know everything when you  _ don’t _ . Doesn’t feel so great, does it?”

“That’s not assuming! I’ve been to your apartment. I know who your parents are. Everyone knows you’re a little spoiled brat, it doesn’t take a goddamn rocket scientist!” Jeno bellowed.

“I’m not the same as my parents! What you know about them doesn’t define who I am! I’m fucking sick of it, Lee! If you want to make those claims at least try to understand me and find out if they’re true! You’re such a fucking hardass.” Jaemin picked up his bag and script from where it was left on the couch and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door hard behind him.

Jeno stared down at his breakfast until he calmed down. His appetite had disappeared, so he pulled out some tupperware and put away what was left of his and Jaemin’s plates. Jeno decided he might as well clean the kitchen while he was at it.

As he cleaned, Jeno tried to reflect on the argument that had just happened and what he could have said to avoid it or at least make it better. Sure, Jaemin was being rude at the beginning of the argument, but Jeno should have known better than to bring up Jaemin’s parents. He should’ve been the bigger person because Chenle asked him to watch out for Jaemin and gain his trust.

There had to be some way he could get Jaemin to forget about what he said. Maybe he’ll be over it by the next rehearsal.

Jeno had never been a very lucky guy, so of course, Jaemin was not over their argument by the next rehearsal. Jeno didn’t really complain though, because Jaemin was over whatever he was going through before they ran lines, so they managed to actually act like they were in love when they were on stage. 

Jeno thought he could get through the show like that, but Chenle still had some complaints, so he made sure Jeno and Jaemin were regularly working on their lines together.

Although Jaemin no longer acted like he was afraid of Jeno, he was still a major pain in the ass. At rehearsals, he wouldn’t talk to him even when Jeno wanted to bring up something work related, and when they ran lines, Jaemin barely helped at all. 

By the end of the week, Jeno was tired and frustrated, so when Yangyang asked him if he wanted to go out drinking with the rest of the cast, even though Jaemin would be there, Jeno said yes. It was a good opportunity to let loose, and hey, if he tried he could hook up with someone and get out some pent up energy.

“Jeno, I feel like I barely talk to you even during rehearsals! We’ve gotta change that,” Yangyang said as he sat next to Jeno at the bar.

“Yeah, definitely,” Jeno agreed, “you should send me your soundcloud, I’ll listen to some of your music.”

“Really? You’ll do that?”

“Of course, why not? You’re a talented actor, so I’m sure you’re a talented rapper as well.”

“Pshaw, thanks dude! I write a lot of songs for rap musicals I’m writing, so just be warned. I want to be like Lin-Manuel Miranda one day, but able to sing and much less problematic.”

Jeno guffawed. “Oh my god, I hope your music on soundcloud isn’t like his sound cloud.”

“Nah, no way,” Yangyang laughed along, “like I said, I think I can sing better than him. I also don’t moan in any of my songs, so you won’t have to worry about that.”

“God, that’s a relief,” Jeno’s gasped out between laughs.

Just as Jeno was beginning to get his laughter under control, Yangyang began imitating Lin in the soundcloud  _ Say No To This _ , which had Jeno’s stomach aching and cheeks hurting from smiling. As tears began springing in his eyes, Yangyang leaned in close to Jeno.

“Yo, I don’t know if you like women or not, but there’s a blonde chick behind you that’s totally checking you out,” he whispered as quietly as he could in the noisy bar.

Jeno subtly looked behind him and saw the woman Yangyang was talking about. Jeno found her to be good looking, so he gave her an obvious glance over before turning back to Yangyang.

“She’s attractive, I like women,” Jeno responded.

Yangyang picked up his drink and got up. “Go after her then, I’ll go sit at the table with everyone else.”

Jeno gave Yangyang a fist bump. “Dude, you are so cool, we’ve got to talk more.”

“Ah, I know, we will, but for now you’ve gotta talk to her,” Yangyang winked and slipped away, leaving Jeno alone at the bar.

It didn’t last very long though, because the aforementioned woman came and sat down on the bar stool that Yangyang had previously occupied. She didn’t look in Jeno’s direction until Jeno addressed her.

“Hi, what are you drinking?” Jeno prayed it wasn’t something expensive.

The woman feigned nonchalance. “Rum and coke, probably.”

Jeno flagged the bartender. “Two rum and cokes,” he ordered.

The woman raised her eyebrows. “Both of those for you?”

“Depends,” Jeno shrugged, “I’ve been told not to share a drink with a stranger, but if you tell me your name I can.”

“My name is Yeeun, but I can’t just accept a drink from a stranger, now can I?”

“I suppose not, I’m Jeno.”

Yeeun smiled. “Thanks for the drink, Jeno.”

“What brings you here tonight, Yeeun?”

Yeeun rolled her eyes. “I was on a date but I left and came here because my date was so insufferably boring. You don’t look like you’re boring though.”

“If you’re asking if we can have fun together, the answer is yes,” Jeno grinned. 

“Yeah? And where do you suggest we have this fun?” 

“My place or yours, whichever one suits you better, baby.”

“Hmmm,” Yeeun put her index finger up to her lip. “Well, you don’t  _ sound  _ like your version of fun means chopping me up into little pieces, but just to be safe, I think my place would be better.”

“Ah, thanks, lucky for you, you’re right. I’m actually quite squeamish when it comes to blood, so chopping someone up could never be fun for me.”

Yeeun downed the rest of her drink. “Well, I’m ready to find out what  _ is _ fun for you. You ready?”

Jeno got up. “I’m gonna run to the bathroom real quick.”

Yeeun nodded and let Jeno go, promising to finish the rest of his drink for him.

Jeno was pleasantly surprised to find nobody making out in the bathroom, which meant he could pee in peace. While he was washing his hands, however, he heard a stifled sob coming from one of the stalls. Jeno knew he could leave it alone, but he couldn’t help himself. 

Jeno ducked his head to figure out which stall it was coming from. When he saw the Chelsea boots, he immediately knew it was Jaemin. Jeno knocked on the stall anyway.

“Jaemin? Is everything alright?” Jeno called out.

Jeno heard several sniffles before he got a response.

“Jeno?” Jaemin croaked.

“Yeah, it’s me. Do you want me to do something or get someone for you?”

Jaemin didn’t respond. Jeno waited a moment as he heard Jaemin’s feet shuffle around. Just when he was about to ask his question again, Jaemin opened the stall door.

Jaemin’s face was stained with tears, and Jeno could see more collecting in his eyes. Jaemin wiped the away with the sleeve of his sweater, although it wasn’t helping much with his lower lip still trembling.

“Jaemin, what happened?” Jeno asked.

Jaemin took a deep breath. “I– yesterday Kunhang–” Jaemin’s voice cracked. “He– I don’t know why– but I’m not even mad,” Jaemin was breathing harshly between every phrase from trying to explain and stop his crying at the same time. It didn’t work though, and the tears came again and wouldn’t stop.

Jaemin covered his face with his hands and stumbled towards Jeno, who caught him in his arms.

“Shhh, take your time. You don’t have to tell me,” Jeno soothed.

Jaemin’s body started spasming as he was gasping for air, and as a result he began hiccuping as well. 

Jeno rubbed his back. “Jaemin, how many drinks have you had?”

“I had two mojitos and few shots,” Jaemin managed to get out.

Jeno knew he had to get Jaemin home. There was already no way he could drive in this mental state, but even if Jeno did get him to calm down, he was drunk and it wouldn’t be safe.

“Alright, I’m gonna take you home. Let’s take some deep breaths.”

Jeno guided Jaemin in his breathing. Once his hiccups stopped and he wasn’t gasping for air, Jeno figured that he could get Jaemin out of the bar like this, even if he was still crying. It was dark enough at least. 

“Can I have your keys?” Jeno asked.

Jaemin handed them over.

“Okay, stay close to me, we’re gonna leave now,” Jeno told him.

Jaemin grabbed onto Jeno’s arm and let himself be guided out of the bathroom. Jaemin kept his head down the whole way through until Jeno stopped. 

“Hey Yeeun, I have to stop and drop my coworker off at home, it’s not safe for him to drive. We can go to your place afterwards, if you want? I’m still down to have some fun.” Jeno smiled.

Jaemin buried his face into Jeno’s shoulder and gripped onto his arm tighter. Jeno looked at Yeeun for her answer. She glanced at Jaemin, though she couldn’t see his face, then looked back at Jeno with an apologetic smile.

“I guess it just wasn’t meant to happen. You’re a real sweet guy for taking care of your friend, it’s really sexy.” Yeeun leaned in and gave Jeno a kiss on the cheek. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, see you around,” Jeno muttered as Yeeun walked away from him.

Jeno sighed and got back to the task at hand. Jaemin kept his face smushed against Jeno’s shoulder, so Jeno was extra careful as he walked to the closest parking lot, hoping Jaemin parked there. It took Jeno a while to find Jaemin’s car, with Jaemin being no help to him, but he managed to find it by locking and unlocking it a million times just to follow the sound.

Jeno gently lowered Jaemin in the car then circled around to get into the driver’s side. Jeno buckled up and watched for a moment as Jaemin struggled to fasten his own seatbelt, eventually reaching over and getting it for him.

Jaemin slumped back in his seat and looked out of the window the whole ride to his apartment. When Jeno stopped the car and got out, he expected Jaemin to follow his example, but instead, Jeno had to come extract Jaemin from his seat. Jaemin held onto Jeno’s hand even once he was out of the car. Jeno testingly tugged like he was going to pull away, but Jaemin held on tighter, and Jeno allowed him to. 

Not even a few feet away from the car, Jaemin staggered and fell into Jeno.

“So dizzy,” he whispered and tried to push himself back up.

Jeno sighed and grabbed both of Jaemin’s hands to get him to grip onto his shoulders. “I’m going to pick you up, Jaemin.”

Jeno did not receive a response, so he reached behind Jaemin’s thighs and hoisted him up.

Jaemin reacted like a koala: he wrapped his legs around Jeno’s torso and shifted to fold his arms around Jeno’s neck with his head once again buried in Jeno’s shoulder.

As they entered the apartment complex, the few people around shot Jeno weird looks and acted as if they were offended by Jeno’s presence in the building. Jeno did his best to ignore it and keep his attention on holding Jaemin up as he dropped all of his weight into Jeno’s arms.

When Jeno finally made it into the elevator, he was trying to press the button to Jaemin’s floor when an older woman stepped in with him. She gave them a once over before pressing for her floor.

“Are you going up to Jaemin’s apartment, dear?” she asked.

Jeno nodded, and the woman pushed the button for him.

“Is Jaemin okay?” the woman asked when the doors closed.

Jeno hoisted Jaemin up more. “He’s fine, just a bit sleepy. He overdid it a bit.”

The woman chuckled. “Sure looks like it. I’m glad he has you to take care of him, he doesn’t let just anyone do that for him.”

Jeno wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say to her. She clearly was under the impression that their relationship was something it was not, but Jeno was not going to tell her otherwise when he was carrying Jaemin up to his apartment

“Have a nice night, honey,” the woman cooed when the elevator opened up to Jaemin’s floor.

Jeno wished her the same and made his way over to the number he remembered to be Jaemin’s– he hoped his memory was correct.

“Jaemin, where are your keys?” Jeno whispered.

“Pocket,” Jaemin murmured.

Jeno huffed and shifted Jaemin to one of his hips so he could support him with one arm and reach into his pocket with the other. Jeno got them out successfully on the first try.

Inside, Jeno laid Jaemin on the couch and left him to get a glass of water for each of them. Jeno made Jaemin sit on the couch until he drank all of it.

“Do you want anything to eat?”

Jaemin shook his head. “Tummy hurts.”

“Do you want to go to bed?”

Jaemin nodded. 

“Can you walk there yourself?”

Jaemin looked up at Jeno helplessly, and Jeno knew he had gotten his answer, so he scooped Jaemin up again and made him direct him to the room.

“I’m going to go get you some more water,” Jeno said once Jaemin was sitting on his bed.

When Jeno came back, Jaemin hadn’t moved an inch.

“Do you want to change into some pajamas?”

Jaemin did, and he told Jeno where to find his pajamas. Jeno pulled out an oversized shirt and pajama pants, and tossed them to Jaemin.

Jaemin immediately slid off his shirt and shimmied out of his pants even though he knew Jeno was looking at him. 

Jeno’s mouth gaped at Jaemin’s shamelessness, but he didn’t protest; nothing would come out of it anyway as Jaemin was already sliding the pajama shirt over his head. 

Jaemin put his hands between his legs and looked down at them intently.

“Kunhang met my friends then broke up with me,” Jaemin said with a tremble in his voice.

Jeno froze.

“It’s not like anything bad happened, in fact, he really liked my friends. He just liked one of them too much. I’m not even mad at him, he tried to leave me with as much dignity as he could, and he and Lucas make a way better couple than we ever did,” Jaemin’s voice broke at the mention of his friend. 

Jeno came over to sit by Jaemin’s side. He was unsure how to comfort Jaemin, so he put an awkward hand on Jaemin’s shoulder. 

“The only reason I’m really even upset is because– why am I never anyone’s first choice?” Jaemin broke down. “Why does nobody want me? What’s–“ Jaemin let out a broken sob and hid his face into Jeno’s chest.

“What’s wrong with me? I just– all I want– but I’m unlovable– I’m so fucked up but I just want someone to  _ want _ me,” Jaemin hiccuped.

“Hey, hey, that’s not true. Your family loves you, your parents love you, your fans love, you’re so loved.”

Jaemin shook his head. “I’m useless. I’m useless. I want love but that doesn’t mean I deserve it,” Jaemin wailed.

Jeno could feel his shirt getting wet from Jaemin’s tears. “Whoa there. Everyone deserves to be loved, no exceptions.”

Jeno lifted Jaemin’s head up to look at him. “Did you hear me? That includes you. You deserve to be loved, Jaemin Na.”

Jaemin tackled Jeno into a hug and let the sobs wrack his body and create a river of tears down his face and onto Jeno until there were no more left.

Jeno rocked Jaemin in his arms. “You want to sleep now?” He whispered.

Jaemin yawned and nodded a yes.

Jeno tried to get up so he could leave, but Jaemin tightened his grip and kept him down on the bed.

“Please, don’t leave me,” Jaemin pleaded softly.

Jeno wasn’t sure why, but he stayed.

Jeno woke up exceedingly hot. He tried to kick the blankets off of him only to realize there were no blankets keeping him warm. What was actually making his body heat up like pancakes in a microwave was a person. Jaemin, to be more precise.

Jaemin was practically on top of Jeno with his head on Jeno’s chest, arm thrown across his stomach, and his legs wrapped around one of Jeno’s. 

Jeno did the best he could to gently remove Jaemin’s limbs from him without disturbing Jaemin. Jeno had just gotten up from the bed when Jaemin stirred.

“Jeno?” Jaemin murmured and rubbed his eyes. “Oh my god, Jeno?!” Jaemin exclaimed when he opened his eyes fully and saw Jeno lingering by the side of the bed. 

“Uh, hello,” Jeno said, “can I get you anything? Some painkillers?”

Jaemin pulled the blanket over his body and clutched at it like a child. “Yeah, I have some sitting on the vanity.”

Jeno retrieved the item. “So, how are you feeling? Do you remember anything from last night?”

Jaemin swallowed the pain medication and hesitated before answering. “No, I don’t remember much at all.”

“That makes sense, you had a lot to drink, from what you told me,” Jeno explained.

“Yeah, I do remember that part. I fully blame it on Donghyuck and Yangyang, they were egging me on.”

“That sure sounds like them,” Jeno chuckled.

“Yeah. Um, thanks for getting me home.”

“No problem. Do you need anything else, or am I good to go?”

“You can go.”

“Cool. See you later, I guess.”

“Wait,” Jaemin suddenly got out of bed. When he realized he was only in underwear and a shirt, he pulled on the hem of the shirt as if that would make it longer. “How are you going to get home? You drove my car here, didn’t you?”

“Ah, looks like you remember something,”

Jaemin’s face and ears turned red.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m taking the subway like I always do.”

“Oh, right. Bye then,” Jaemin said.

“Bye, Jaemin.”

Jeno opened the door to leave, but found his path obstructed by a very tall and large man.

“Um, who are you?” the man asked.

“I feel like I should be the one asking that question,” Jeno fired back.

“I’m Lucas, I’m one of Jaemin’s friends. Now who are you?”

Jeno remembered what Jaemin had told him last night. “Jeno. Should you really be here right now?”

Lucas gave Jeno a once over. “Not to be rude, but I don’t think that’s really any of your business, man.”

Jeno had to admit Lucas was right, but he wasn’t going to tell him that. “Just wait right here, I’ll ask Jaemin if you can come in.”

Jeno walked back to the bedroom and collided with Jaemin in the doorway.

“I thought you were leaving?” Jaemin looked confused. 

“I was, some guy named Lucas said he’s here to see you though, just wanted to warn you. If you want me to kick him out, I can.”

Jaemin cursed under his breath. “Just give me a second to put on some pants.”

Jaemin ran in his room pantless and came out just a couple of seconds, pants on.

“Ah, you can leave once I get Lucas in, I’ll be able to handle it.” Jaemin told him.

“Uh, yeah, wasn’t really planning on staying for it,” Jeno mentioned.

Jaemin wrung his hands together. “Oh, yeah, of course not.”

Jaemin led the way to his front door and opened it for Lucas.

“Hi Lucas,” he sighed.

“Nana, can we please talk?” Lucas asked, looking like a kicked puppy.

“Sure. Come in,” Jaemin stepped aside. “See you later, Jeno.”

Jeno nodded and took his leave, feeling proud of what he had accomplished. Chenle would be so happy to hear what Jeno had done once he sees how much better he and Jaemin are on stage together.

**Author's Note:**

> [twt](https://twitter.com/honeyhearthyuck) I [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/honeyhearthyuck)


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